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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. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. march — the month
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. degree — from a university
  10. march — music
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. drill — army training
  13. drill — the tool
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. wax — to grow
  16. degree — an amount
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. rush — hurry
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. bat — the animal
  21. drill — a practice
  22. march — the month
  23. degree — temperature
  24. wave — with your hand

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