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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 116 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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. sharp — clever
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. court — for sport
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. net — in sport
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. court — of law
  9. stock — goods
  10. stock — shares
  11. court — of a king
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. wax — to grow
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. tear — to rip
  18. tear — from crying
  19. net — after costs
  20. pass — a permit
  21. tear — from crying
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. net — for catching

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