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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. file — a document
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. roll — a list
  7. file — a tool
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. wax — to grow
  12. file — a line of people
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. clip — for paper
  15. rush — hurry
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. clip — a video
  20. roll — a cake
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. sharp — clever
  23. clip — to cut
  24. roll — on a roll

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