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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. drill — the tool
  3. swing — to play on
  4. bear — the animal
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. net — for catching
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. swing — in golf
  11. pass — a permit
  12. net — after costs
  13. stock — shares
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. drill — a practice
  16. stock — goods
  17. march — the month
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. drill — army training
  20. march — music
  21. net — in sport
  22. swing — music
  23. bear — the animal
  24. march — the month

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