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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 · mark · sharp · season · face · net · rock · band

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. net — for catching
  3. wax — to grow
  4. rock — music
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. band — a music group
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. face — to confront
  10. season — of the year
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. mark — a trace
  14. face — to point toward
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. sharp — clever
  17. band — a ring
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. mark — a grade
  20. rock — a stone
  21. net — in sport
  22. face — part of the head
  23. net — after costs
  24. season — in sport

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