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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. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. row — to paddle
  4. chest — of your body
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. drill — army training
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. drill — a practice
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. chest — of your body
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. wax — to grow
  16. sharp — clever
  17. snap — to click
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. drill — the tool
  20. row — a line
  21. chest — a box
  22. deal — to handle
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. temple — a place of worship

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