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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. wax — to grow
  3. march — the month
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. land — a country
  7. board — a committee
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. bat — the animal
  11. mark — a grade
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. wake — a trail
  14. land — ground
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. march — music
  17. mark — a trace
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. content — happy
  21. board — to get on
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. content — the amount
  24. land — to come down

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