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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. pop — to visit
  4. last — final
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. pop — soda
  7. club — a group
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. last — finally
  10. lean — to bend
  11. pop — music
  12. club — for golf
  13. march — music
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. lean — thin
  17. wax — to grow
  18. last — to go on
  19. game — wild animals
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. club — for dancing
  23. march — the month
  24. game — a match

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