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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. wax — to grow
  5. file — a document
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. file — a tool
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. plane — a tool
  13. bound — certain
  14. bound — tied together
  15. game — a match
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. rock — a stone
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. file — a line of people
  21. bound — obliged
  22. kick — in football
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. game — wild animals

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