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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: game · wound · net · wave · current · march · date · wax

  1. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. wound — an injury
  3. game — a match
  4. current — of water
  5. game — wild animals
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. date — the fruit
  10. wax — to grow
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. net — in sport
  13. march — music
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. march — the month
  17. net — after costs
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. march — the month
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. net — for catching
  23. current — happening now
  24. current — electric

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