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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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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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 coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. swing — in golf
  3. fine — high quality
  4. cell — a phone
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. cell — in biology
  7. swing — music
  8. pound — a weight
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. swing — to play on
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. clip — for paper
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. fine — all right
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. kid — child
  19. clip — to cut
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. wax — to grow
  22. kid — to tease
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. clip — a video

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