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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. bore — to tire
  4. fine — all right
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. fine — high quality
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. mine — for digging
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. bore — to drill
  12. cold — not warm
  13. cold — an illness
  14. face — to point toward
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. face — part of the head
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. wax — to grow
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. rock — a stone
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. face — to confront

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