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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 soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. drill — army training
  3. safe — a strongbox
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. march — the month
  6. mark — a trace
  7. last — final
  8. mark — a grade
  9. drill — a practice
  10. last — finally
  11. march — music
  12. band — a ring
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. wax — to grow
  15. drill — the tool
  16. lean — thin
  17. band — a music group
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. march — the month
  21. last — to go on
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. lean — to bend

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