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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. season — in sport
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. file — a document
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. squash — to crush
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. last — finally
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. lie — to recline
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. season — of the year
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. bat — the animal
  19. file — a tool
  20. last — final
  21. last — to go on
  22. file — a line of people
  23. squash — the sport
  24. wax — to grow

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