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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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. fall — the season
  4. fine — all right
  5. fall — to drop
  6. deal — to handle
  7. fine — high quality
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. wax — to grow
  10. rash — a series
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. squash — the sport
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. clip — for paper
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. rash — hasty
  20. squash — to crush
  21. clip — to cut
  22. fall — to drop
  23. clip — a video
  24. deal — a big deal

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