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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. march — the month
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. march — music
  7. mate — a partner
  8. kid — to tease
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. kid — child
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. game — a match
  16. mark — a grade
  17. mate — a friend
  18. march — the month
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. mark — a trace
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. mate — to breed
  23. game — wild animals
  24. plane — a tool

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