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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.

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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 a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. chip — for betting
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. lean — thin
  6. lean — to bend
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. scale — size or range
  9. wax — to grow
  10. scale — in music
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. bass — low music
  14. chip — to eat
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. bass — the fish
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. bass — the instrument

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