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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. net — in sport
  3. scale — size or range
  4. net — for catching
  5. rest — what's left
  6. rest — a break
  7. degree — from a university
  8. scale — in music
  9. mark — a trace
  10. degree — an amount
  11. saw — the tool
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. march — the month
  14. mark — a grade
  15. rest — what's left
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. degree — temperature
  19. saw — the tool
  20. net — after costs
  21. march — music
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. march — the month
  24. saw — past of 'see'

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com