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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. pop — to visit
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. wind — moving air
  6. pop — music
  7. branch — a division
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. kick — in football
  10. pit — a hole
  11. game — wild animals
  12. pop — soda
  13. game — a match
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. wake — a trail
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. pit — in a race

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