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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. march — music
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. wind — moving air
  7. hand — help
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wax — to grow
  10. mate — a friend
  11. rush — hurry
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. march — the month
  14. march — the month
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. root — of a plant
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. root — of a word
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. mate — to breed
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. root — the cause
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. hand — in cards

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