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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. wake — a trail
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. mate — a partner
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. mate — to breed
  9. track — a song
  10. bear — the animal
  11. mate — a friend
  12. rush — hurry
  13. wax — to grow
  14. track — to keep track
  15. bat — the animal
  16. swing — in golf
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. swing — music
  20. swing — to play on
  21. bear — the animal
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. track — a path

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