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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. wax — to grow
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. track — a song
  6. march — the month
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. march — the month
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. march — music
  12. track — to keep track
  13. kick — in football
  14. wake — a trail
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. track — a path
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. ball — a dance
  24. ball — a great time

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