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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. rush — hurry
  4. court — of law
  5. last — finally
  6. last — to go on
  7. ball — a dance
  8. last — final
  9. ball — a great time
  10. band — a music group
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. band — a ring
  14. court — of a king
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. court — for sport
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. racket — a loud noise

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