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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. saw — the tool
  3. spell — magic
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. spell — a short time
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. swing — to play on
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. march — the month
  10. march — music
  11. saw — the tool
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. swing — music
  14. spell — letters
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. march — the month
  19. branch — a division
  20. wake — a trail
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. swing — in golf
  24. perch — the fish

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