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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 124 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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: present · wind · rest · cell · last · wax

  1. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. 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. rest — what's left
  2. wax — to grow
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. last — final
  5. wind — moving air
  6. cell — in biology
  7. wind — moving air
  8. last — finally
  9. present — the time now
  10. present — a gift
  11. last — to go on
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. present — there
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. cell — a phone
  17. rest — what's left
  18. 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