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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. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. spell — letters
  4. spell — magic
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. wax — to grow
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. march — the month
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. fall — to drop
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. rest — what's left
  14. toast — bread
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. fall — to drop
  17. tube — a container
  18. march — the month
  19. tube — the underground
  20. fall — the season
  21. spell — a short time
  22. rest — what's left
  23. rest — a break
  24. march — music

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