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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. wax — to grow
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. branch — a division
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. sharp — clever
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. wind — moving air
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. scale — in music
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. rock — music
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. rock — a stone
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. wake — a trail

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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