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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: march · last · hand · wax · rock · safe · rush · season

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. march — the month
  3. last — final
  4. last — to go on
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. march — music
  7. season — in sport
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. rock — a stone
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. season — of the year
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. rush — hurry
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. wax — to grow
  18. last — finally
  19. march — the month
  20. hand — in cards
  21. hand — help
  22. rock — music
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. rush — a thrill

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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