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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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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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. sharp — clever
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. spell — letters
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. spell — a short time
  10. chest — of your body
  11. toast — bread
  12. spell — magic
  13. mark — a grade
  14. chest — a box
  15. wax — to grow
  16. mark — a trace
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. chest — of your body

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