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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: wake · kick · chest · stick · sharp · march · rash · wax

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. rash — hasty
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. march — music
  7. wake — a trail
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. march — the month
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. chest — of your body
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. sharp — clever
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. chest — a box
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. rash — a series
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. kick — in football
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. march — the month
  23. chest — of your body
  24. sharp — with an edge

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