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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 116 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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. band — a music group
  3. bound — obliged
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. band — a ring
  6. bound — tied together
  7. season — of the year
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. scale — size or range
  10. ground — a position
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. wind — moving air
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. scale — in music
  19. bound — certain
  20. rash — hasty
  21. season — in sport
  22. ground — crushed
  23. ground — the earth
  24. rash — a series

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