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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'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. march — the month
  3. can — to be able to
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. can — a tin
  7. spell — letters
  8. fall — to drop
  9. pound — a weight
  10. board — to get on
  11. spell — a short time
  12. spell — magic
  13. last — final
  14. last — to go on
  15. march — music
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. can — a tin
  18. wax — to grow
  19. last — finally
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. fall — to drop
  22. fall — the season
  23. march — the month
  24. pound — to hit hard

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