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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. pop — to visit
  3. object — an aim
  4. land — ground
  5. bark — to shout
  6. pop — music
  7. chip — to eat
  8. fine — all right
  9. object — to protest
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. pop — soda
  12. ground — a position
  13. object — a thing
  14. chip — for betting
  15. fine — high quality
  16. ground — crushed
  17. land — a country
  18. wax — to grow
  19. land — to come down
  20. ground — the earth
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. wax — for sculpting

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