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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.

Make a worksheet

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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. ground — a position
  3. scale — in music
  4. season — in sport
  5. bound — certain
  6. scale — size or range
  7. wax — to grow
  8. wind — moving air
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. ground — crushed
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. wind — moving air
  14. ground — the earth
  15. season — of the year
  16. bound — obliged
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. bound — tied together

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