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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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. band — a ring
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. track — to keep track
  6. wax — to grow
  7. craft — a skill
  8. chest — a box
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. chest — of your body
  11. bore — to tire
  12. bore — to drill
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. wind — moving air
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. track — a song
  18. band — a music group
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. chest — of your body
  23. wind — moving air
  24. track — a path

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