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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 120 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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. chip — to eat
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. net — in sport
  6. wake — a trail
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. chip — for betting
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. spring — of water
  11. wax — to grow
  12. pass — a permit
  13. net — after costs
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. spring — the season
  20. plane — a tool
  21. net — for catching
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. spring — a coil
  24. plane — an aircraft

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