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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. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. bank — for money
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. field — a subject
  5. bank — of a river
  6. last — final
  7. pop — music
  8. pop — soda
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. field — farmland
  11. field — for sport
  12. pop — to visit
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. band — a ring
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. last — to go on
  17. sharp — clever
  18. last — finally
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. roll — a list
  21. bank — for money
  22. roll — a cake
  23. band — a music group
  24. sharp — exactly

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