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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. march — music
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. roll — a cake
  7. march — the month
  8. roll — a list
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. wax — to grow
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. track — a path
  16. march — the month
  17. track — to keep track
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. band — a music group
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. track — a song
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. band — a ring

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