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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. spell — a short time
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. spell — letters
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. stock — shares
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. wind — moving air
  11. bark — to shout
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. stock — goods
  14. mug — a face
  15. band — a ring
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. mug — to rob
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. snap — to click
  20. band — a music group
  21. mug — a cup
  22. wind — moving air
  23. spell — magic
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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