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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: land · wound · mate · rush · pop · wax · object · cap

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. pop — music
  3. land — a country
  4. mate — to breed
  5. cap — a hat
  6. wound — an injury
  7. object — a thing
  8. land — ground
  9. land — to come down
  10. rush — hurry
  11. mate — a friend
  12. pop — to visit
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. cap — a lid
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. object — to protest
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. object — an aim
  19. pop — soda
  20. cap — of ice
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. mate — a partner
  24. wound — an injury

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