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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 120 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 ball is in your ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. court — for sport
  3. court — of law
  4. cold — an illness
  5. object — a thing
  6. wax — to grow
  7. net — after costs
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. key — the most important part
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. cold — not warm
  13. key — in music
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. court — of a king
  16. net — for catching
  17. sharp — clever
  18. object — an aim
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. net — in sport
  23. object — to protest
  24. key — for a lock

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