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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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. swing — music
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. land — to come down
  7. swing — in golf
  8. ball — a dance
  9. swing — to play on
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wound — an injury
  13. spring — a coil
  14. ball — a great time
  15. spring — the season
  16. can — a tin
  17. land — ground
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. spring — of water
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. land — a country
  22. can — a tin
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. can — to be able to

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