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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 120 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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. wake — a trail
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. bear — the animal
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. bat — the animal
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. wound — an injury
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. bear — the animal
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. wound — an injury
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. cabinet — ministers

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