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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 116 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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. file — a tool
  7. band — a ring
  8. bore — to drill
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. season — of the year
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. staff — employees
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. bore — to tire
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. pitch — completely
  18. staff — employees
  19. season — in sport
  20. file — a line of people
  21. rush — hurry
  22. staff — a stick
  23. file — a document
  24. band — a music group

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