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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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. key — in music
  3. wax — to grow
  4. key — the most important part
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. spring — the season
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. scale — size or range
  12. tear — from crying
  13. plane — a tool
  14. drill — a practice
  15. scale — in music
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. drill — the tool
  18. tear — to rip
  19. spring — of water
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. tear — from crying
  22. spring — a coil
  23. key — for a lock
  24. drill — army training

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