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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. rash — a series
  4. key — for a lock
  5. bass — low music
  6. key — the most important part
  7. stock — goods
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. wax — to grow
  10. wind — moving air
  11. season — of the year
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. key — in music
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. rash — hasty
  16. wind — moving air
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. bass — the fish
  20. season — in sport
  21. stock — shares
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. wind — to turn a key

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