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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.

Make a worksheet

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: cold · last · trunk · wax · march · mate · sharp · racket

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. march — the month
  3. march — the month
  4. last — final
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. wax — to grow
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. cold — an illness
  11. cold — not warm
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. mate — a friend
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. mate — to breed
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. sharp — clever
  20. mate — a partner
  21. last — finally
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. last — to go on
  24. sharp — exactly

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