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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. pound — a weight
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. wax — to grow
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. board — to get on
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. mine — for digging
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. march — the month
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. sharp — clever
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. march — music
  18. wake — a trail
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. march — the month
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. board — a committee

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