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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. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. toast — bread
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. band — a music group
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. band — a ring
  10. wax — to grow
  11. drill — army training
  12. rush — hurry
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. drill — a practice
  16. chair — a leader
  17. saw — the tool
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. drill — the tool
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. saw — the tool
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. rush — a thrill

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