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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 train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. pop — music
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. pitch — completely
  6. pop — to visit
  7. can — to be able to
  8. mate — a partner
  9. can — a tin
  10. wind — moving air
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. can — a tin
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. wind — moving air
  17. pop — soda
  18. capital — a city
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. capital — money
  21. mate — a friend
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. mate — to breed

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