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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. rock — music
  3. rest — what's left
  4. prune — to trim
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. rock — a stone
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. wax — to grow
  10. roll — a cake
  11. rest — a break
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. roll — a list
  16. game — a match
  17. game — wild animals
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. degree — from a university
  20. degree — temperature
  21. degree — an amount
  22. rest — what's left
  23. prune — to trim
  24. roll — on a roll

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