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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. march — music
  3. wax — to grow
  4. squash — to crush
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. bank — for money
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. bank — for money
  10. march — the month
  11. squash — the sport
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. bank — of a river
  15. plane — a tool
  16. hand — in cards
  17. bat — the animal
  18. hand — help
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. lean — thin
  22. lean — to bend
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. march — the month

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