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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: wax · march · pop · roll · wind · deal · wake · staff

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. staff — employees
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. pop — soda
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. deal — to handle
  7. march — the month
  8. march — music
  9. staff — employees
  10. wind — moving air
  11. pop — music
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. roll — a list
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. wind — moving air
  16. staff — a stick
  17. wake — a trail
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. pop — to visit
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. march — the month
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. wax — to grow

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