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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. march — music
  3. tube — a container
  4. tube — the underground
  5. rest — what's left
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. wax — to grow
  11. march — the month
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. rest — a break
  14. march — the month
  15. wind — moving air
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. rest — what's left
  19. fork — in a road
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wave — with your hand

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