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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. key — the most important part
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. rest — what's left
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. drill — a practice
  11. drill — army training
  12. wax — to grow
  13. rest — what's left
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. wind — moving air
  20. rest — a break
  21. key — for a lock
  22. key — in music
  23. wind — moving air
  24. drill — the tool

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