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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. craft — boats
  3. wind — moving air
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. mate — to breed
  6. saw — the tool
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. craft — a skill
  9. cell — in biology
  10. cell — a phone
  11. mate — a friend
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. saw — the tool
  14. wax — to grow
  15. mate — a partner
  16. pass — a permit
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. wind — moving air
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. mark — a grade
  23. mark — a trace
  24. cell — in a prison

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