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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. march — music
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. wax — to grow
  7. last — finally
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. swing — to play on
  11. ball — a dance
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. snap — to click
  14. march — the month
  15. cell — in biology
  16. last — final
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. swing — music
  20. cell — a phone
  21. ball — a great time
  22. branch — a division
  23. last — to go on
  24. swing — in golf

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