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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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. mine — belonging to me
  4. wax — to grow
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. firm — decided
  8. court — of a king
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. band — a music group
  11. court — of law
  12. firm — steady
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. present — the time now
  15. race — the arms race
  16. race — humankind
  17. present — a gift
  18. present — there
  19. firm — a company
  20. band — a ring
  21. race — a contest
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. court — for sport
  24. band — a rubber band

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