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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · pass · cold · calf · wax · pitcher · wake · perch

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. pass — a permit
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. perch — the fish
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. cold — an illness
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. march — the month
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. march — the month
  15. wake — a trail
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. cold — not warm
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. march — music
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. calf — a young animal

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