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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. clip — to cut
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. object — an aim
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. chest — a box
  10. chest — of your body
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. clip — a video
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. object — to protest
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. rule — a law
  18. clip — for paper
  19. wake — a trail
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. object — a thing
  22. rule — government
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. chest — of your body

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