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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 120 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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. last — final
  4. pop — to visit
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. dip — to sink
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. deal — to handle
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. drill — the tool
  13. drill — a practice
  14. pop — soda
  15. drill — army training
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. last — to go on
  20. last — finally
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. pop — music

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