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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. rush — hurry
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. bank — of a river
  6. row — a line
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. cue — a hint
  9. cue — a signal
  10. bank — for money
  11. file — a line of people
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. cue — for pool
  14. bulb — for light
  15. file — a document
  16. row — to paddle
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. file — a tool
  19. bulb — for light
  20. bank — for money
  21. pop — soda
  22. pop — to visit
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. pop — 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