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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. track — a path
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. track — to keep track
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. face — to confront
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. march — the month
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. bulb — for light
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. march — music
  17. bulb — for light
  18. track — a song
  19. face — part of the head
  20. wax — to grow
  21. band — a ring
  22. face — to point toward
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. band — a music group

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