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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. bank — for money
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. wax — to grow
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. row — to paddle
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. bank — for money
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. season — in sport
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. bear — the animal
  20. season — of the year
  21. row — a line
  22. bear — the animal
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. bank — of a river

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