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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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. wax — to grow
  5. pass — a permit
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. plane — a tool
  8. cap — of ice
  9. hand — in cards
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. hand — help
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. capital — a city
  16. rash — hasty
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. rash — a series
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. cap — a lid
  23. cap — a hat
  24. capital — money

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