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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. mate — a partner
  3. field — farmland
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. shower — rain
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. march — the month
  9. wax — to grow
  10. field — a subject
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. shower — to wash
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. branch — a division
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. field — for sport
  19. march — music
  20. mate — a friend
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. mate — to breed
  24. wax — for sculpting

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