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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 band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. bat — the animal
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. net — after costs
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. dip — to sink
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. wax — to grow
  12. net — for catching
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. branch — a division
  15. net — in sport
  16. wake — a trail
  17. march — the month
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. march — the month
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. snap — to click
  24. wax — in the ear

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