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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. scale — size or range
  4. band — a music group
  5. band — a ring
  6. clip — a video
  7. fine — high quality
  8. current — of water
  9. fine — all right
  10. wax — to grow
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. scale — in music
  13. club — for golf
  14. clip — for paper
  15. current — electric
  16. pitch — completely
  17. current — happening now
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. clip — to cut
  20. club — for dancing
  21. club — a group
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. scale — for weighing

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