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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. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. clip — to cut
  4. pass — a permit
  5. mate — a partner
  6. object — an aim
  7. mate — a friend
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. wax — to grow
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. fork — in a road
  12. object — to protest
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. clip — for paper
  15. clip — a video
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. rule — a law
  19. mate — to breed
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. object — a thing
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. rule — government
  24. date — the fruit

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