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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 116 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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468
Word bank
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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 met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. mate — to breed
  5. mate — a friend
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. kid — to tease
  8. wax — to grow
  9. bass — low music
  10. fork — in a road
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. degree — from a university
  14. mine — for digging
  15. kid — child
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. degree — temperature
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. bass — the fish
  22. mate — a partner
  23. deal — to handle
  24. degree — an amount

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