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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. cell — in biology
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. mate — a partner
  5. cue — a hint
  6. cue — a signal
  7. mate — a friend
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. pound — a weight
  10. wax — to grow
  11. court — of a king
  12. court — of law
  13. bulb — for light
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. court — for sport
  17. cell — a phone
  18. bulb — for light
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. mate — to breed
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. cue — for pool

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