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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. bat — the animal
  3. snap — to click
  4. tube — a container
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. key — in music
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. tube — the underground
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. key — for a lock
  12. squash — to crush
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. squash — the sport
  17. key — the most important part
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. wax — to grow
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. mine — for digging
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. mine — belonging to me

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