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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. wound — an injury
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. shower — rain
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. race — a contest
  9. band — a ring
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. stock — shares
  16. shower — to wash
  17. wound — an injury
  18. stock — goods
  19. race — humankind
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. race — the arms race
  23. band — a music group
  24. lash — an eyelash

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