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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. face — part of the head
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. snap — to click
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. field — a subject
  8. face — to point toward
  9. wax — to grow
  10. bat — the animal
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. scale — size or range
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. field — for sport
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. field — farmland
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. face — to confront
  21. stand — to bear
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. scale — in music

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