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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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. wax — to grow
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. content — happy
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. last — finally
  15. pound — a weight
  16. net — in sport
  17. last — to go on
  18. last — final
  19. content — the amount
  20. net — for catching
  21. net — after costs
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. bat — the animal
  24. wax — for sculpting

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