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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. spell — letters
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. march — the month
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. wake — a trail
  8. swing — to play on
  9. spell — a short time
  10. wax — to grow
  11. march — music
  12. tube — the underground
  13. swing — in golf
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. tube — a container
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. spell — magic
  18. swing — music
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. rest — what's left
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. march — the month
  23. rest — what's left
  24. rest — a break

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