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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. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. cue — a signal
  3. drill — a practice
  4. cue — a hint
  5. last — final
  6. charge — electricity
  7. capital — money
  8. cell — a phone
  9. spell — magic
  10. capital — a city
  11. charge — a price
  12. cue — for pool
  13. cell — in biology
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. last — finally
  16. spell — a short time
  17. drill — army training
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. drill — the tool
  21. charge — in control
  22. wax — to grow
  23. spell — letters
  24. last — to go on

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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