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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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. last — finally
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. row — a line
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. row — to paddle
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. lie — to recline
  13. last — to go on
  14. pop — to visit
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. last — final
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. pop — soda
  23. pop — music
  24. wound — an injury

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