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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. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. mate — a friend
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. mate — a partner
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. rock — music
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. kid — to tease
  13. scale — size or range
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. bark — to shout
  16. scale — in music
  17. rock — a stone
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. kid — child
  20. mate — to breed
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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