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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. bass — low music
  3. wax — to grow
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. cold — an illness
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. rash — a series
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. rush — hurry
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. cold — not warm
  17. bass — the fish
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. mine — for digging
  24. rash — hasty

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