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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. race — humankind
  3. face — to point toward
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. file — a line of people
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. file — a document
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. lean — to bend
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. file — a tool
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. wax — to grow
  15. face — part of the head
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. lean — thin
  18. rash — a series
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. race — the arms race
  21. face — to confront
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. race — a contest
  24. rash — hasty

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