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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 116 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 speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. He has no idea where the ________________ is.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. wake — a trail
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. row — a line
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. row — to paddle
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. plane — a tool
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. game — wild animals
  18. wound — an injury
  19. game — a match
  20. wound — an injury
  21. branch — a division
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. safe — a strongbox

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