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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. mine — for digging
  3. rest — a break
  4. march — the month
  5. rest — what's left
  6. cap — a lid
  7. march — music
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. wax — to grow
  10. cap — of ice
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. cap — a hat
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. rest — what's left
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. march — the month
  18. scale — size or range
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. lean — thin
  23. scale — in music
  24. lean — to bend

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