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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 moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. march — the month
  3. march — music
  4. ball — a dance
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. scale — in music
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. last — finally
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. last — final
  12. march — the month
  13. foot — a measure
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. press — a publisher
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. ball — a great time
  19. press — to push
  20. scale — size or range
  21. press — newspapers
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. last — to go on
  24. fork — in a road

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