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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 116 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: bear · wind · season · tear · march · wake · mouse · wax

  1. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. march — the month
  3. tear — from crying
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. bear — the animal
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. wind — moving air
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. wax — to grow
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. march — the month
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. tear — to rip
  16. bear — the animal
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. season — of the year
  21. tear — from crying
  22. march — music
  23. wake — a trail
  24. season — in sport

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