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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. David sat on the ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. swing — to play on
  3. mine — for digging
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. capital — a city
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. swing — in golf
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. chair — a leader
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. foot — a measure
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. wax — to grow
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. capital — money
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. plane — a tool
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. swing — 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