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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: ball · mark · wax · rash · rush · spring · land · firm

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. rash — a series
  4. wax — to grow
  5. firm — steady
  6. rush — hurry
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. firm — a company
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. firm — decided
  12. spring — a coil
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. mark — a trace
  15. land — a country
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. spring — of water
  18. mark — a grade
  19. spring — the season
  20. rash — hasty
  21. land — to come down
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. land — ground
  24. ball — a great time

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