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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: wax · press · bark · field · spell · lean · wind · wave

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. spell — letters
  3. wind — moving air
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. bark — to shout
  6. spell — magic
  7. spell — a short time
  8. lean — thin
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. wind — moving air
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. press — newspapers
  15. press — to push
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. field — for sport
  18. field — a subject
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. lean — to bend
  21. press — a publisher
  22. field — farmland
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. wave — of the sea

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