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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. present — a gift
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. present — the time now
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. chest — of your body
  11. pass — a permit
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. wound — an injury
  14. chest — a box
  15. degree — from a university
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. spell — magic
  18. spell — a short time
  19. degree — temperature
  20. present — there
  21. chest — of your body
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. degree — an amount
  24. spell — letters

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