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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 116 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 band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. march — music
  3. suit — to fit
  4. pound — a weight
  5. march — the month
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wax — to grow
  8. suit — in cards
  9. tube — a container
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. wind — moving air
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. capital — money
  14. suit — clothes
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. capital — a city
  17. march — the month
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. bore — to drill
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. bore — to tire
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. tube — the underground

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