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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. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. wound — an injury
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. court — for sport
  7. wax — to grow
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. court — of a king
  10. rule — government
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. mark — a grade
  13. court — of law
  14. file — a tool
  15. file — a line of people
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. rule — a law
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. mark — a trace
  21. wound — an injury
  22. file — a document
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. date — the fruit

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