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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. pass — a permit
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. swing — music
  5. bound — certain
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. march — the month
  8. bound — tied together
  9. swing — in golf
  10. bound — obliged
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. prune — to trim
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. wound — an injury
  15. swing — to play on
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wake — a trail
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. wax — to grow
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. march — the month
  23. prune — to trim
  24. march — music

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