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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. dip — to sink
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. lean — thin
  5. march — the month
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. rash — hasty
  9. vault — a safe
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. march — the month
  13. wax — to grow
  14. lean — to bend
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. bass — low music
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. march — music
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. bass — the fish
  23. rash — a series
  24. patient — a sick person

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