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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. object — a thing
  4. object — an aim
  5. foot — a measure
  6. key — in music
  7. root — of a word
  8. lean — thin
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. object — to protest
  11. lean — to bend
  12. snap — to click
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. key — for a lock
  15. cold — an illness
  16. key — the most important part
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. root — the cause
  20. wax — to grow
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. root — of a plant
  24. cold — not warm

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