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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. scale — size or range
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. club — for golf
  5. deal — to handle
  6. drill — a practice
  7. scale — in music
  8. field — a subject
  9. wake — a trail
  10. wax — to grow
  11. field — farmland
  12. drill — army training
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. drill — the tool
  15. field — for sport
  16. pop — to visit
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. club — for dancing
  19. pop — music
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. club — a group
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. pop — soda

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