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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. present — there
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. shower — to wash
  5. band — a ring
  6. fork — in a road
  7. deal — to handle
  8. shower — rain
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. present — the time now
  11. wake — a trail
  12. clip — to cut
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. clip — for paper
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. present — a gift
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. band — a music group
  20. clip — a video
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. wax — for sculpting

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