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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 120 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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. mate — a partner
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. mate — to breed
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. bore — to drill
  9. swing — in golf
  10. bore — to tire
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. present — a gift
  13. game — wild animals
  14. swing — music
  15. wax — to grow
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. present — the time now
  19. swing — to play on
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. game — a match
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. mate — a friend
  24. present — there

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