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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. march — the month
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. wax — to grow
  7. present — there
  8. march — music
  9. pit — a hole
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. deal — to handle
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. bark — to shout
  14. present — the time now
  15. wind — moving air
  16. present — a gift
  17. wind — moving air
  18. pit — in a race
  19. cue — for pool
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. cue — a signal
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. cue — a hint

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