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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. charge — electricity
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. face — to point toward
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. wax — to grow
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. charge — a price
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. swing — music
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. swing — in golf
  17. plane — a tool
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. swing — to play on
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. face — to confront
  23. face — part of the head
  24. charge — in control

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