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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 116 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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. file — a line of people
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. march — music
  6. file — a tool
  7. mark — a grade
  8. content — happy
  9. march — the month
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. march — the month
  12. rock — a stone
  13. wax — to grow
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. content — the amount
  16. mark — a trace
  17. rock — music
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. craft — a skill
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. file — a document
  22. dip — to sink
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. craft — boats

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