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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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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: mate · pound · stand · wax · march · club

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. stand — to bear
  3. mate — a partner
  4. club — a group
  5. march — the month
  6. club — for dancing
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. mate — to breed
  9. mate — a friend
  10. march — music
  11. wax — to grow
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. club — for golf
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. march — the month
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. pound — a weight

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