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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 little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. march — music
  4. row — a line
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. scale — size or range
  8. row — to paddle
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. land — ground
  12. scale — in music
  13. bear — the animal
  14. shower — rain
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. shower — to wash
  17. land — a country
  18. march — the month
  19. wax — to grow
  20. march — the month
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. land — to come down
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. wax — in the ear

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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