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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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Word bank
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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. ball — a dance
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. wax — to grow
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. rush — hurry
  7. band — a music group
  8. ball — a great time
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. face — part of the head
  11. march — music
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. kick — in football
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. face — to confront
  16. band — a ring
  17. march — the month
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. bass — low music
  20. bass — the fish
  21. face — to point toward
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. march — the month
  24. rush — a thrill

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