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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. scale — size or range
  3. mate — to breed
  4. mate — a friend
  5. cell — a phone
  6. shower — rain
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. band — a ring
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. band — a music group
  13. cell — in biology
  14. shower — to wash
  15. scale — in music
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. mate — a partner
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. pound — a weight
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. wax — in the ear

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