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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 · rock · wax · pop · spell · cold · bay · lean

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. cold — not warm
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. cold — an illness
  8. spell — a short time
  9. lean — thin
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. rock — a stone
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. wax — to grow
  14. pop — to visit
  15. pop — music
  16. spell — magic
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. wake — a trail
  19. lean — to bend
  20. rock — music
  21. spell — letters
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. pop — soda

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