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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: wax · wave · last · bound · spring · cell · pitcher · ball

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. last — to go on
  6. wax — to grow
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. bound — obliged
  9. ball — a great time
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. cell — in biology
  13. spring — the season
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. bound — certain
  16. last — finally
  17. cell — a phone
  18. spring — of water
  19. bound — tied together
  20. ball — a dance
  21. last — final
  22. spring — a coil
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. wax — in the ear

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