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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. kid — to tease
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. mark — a trace
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. club — for dancing
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. mark — a grade
  12. cap — a lid
  13. wax — to grow
  14. kid — child
  15. wound — an injury
  16. club — a group
  17. wound — an injury
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. club — for golf
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. cap — a hat
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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