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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. The water is too ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. cold — not warm
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. cold — an illness
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. foot — a measure
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. chest — of your body
  13. ball — a dance
  14. rock — a stone
  15. kid — to tease
  16. chest — a box
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. rock — music
  19. kid — child
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. chest — of your body
  22. ball — a great time
  23. wax — to grow
  24. foot — the bottom

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