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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.

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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. rash — a series
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. scale — in music
  7. tube — the underground
  8. wind — moving air
  9. scale — size or range
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. kid — child
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. wax — to grow
  15. tube — a container
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. rash — hasty
  18. kid — to tease

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