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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 120 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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. court — for sport
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. chest — of your body
  6. present — a gift
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. pop — to visit
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. chest — of your body
  11. court — of law
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. court — of a king
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. present — there
  17. chest — a box
  18. wake — a trail
  19. pop — music
  20. pop — soda
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. present — the time now
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. wax — for sculpting

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