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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. fork — in a road
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. chair — a leader
  7. tube — the underground
  8. prune — to trim
  9. bat — the animal
  10. tube — a container
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. wax — to grow
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. prune — to trim
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. straw — dry grass

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