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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 120 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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. mate — a friend
  3. pop — to visit
  4. ground — a position
  5. wax — to grow
  6. swing — to play on
  7. pop — soda
  8. ground — the earth
  9. mate — a partner
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. swing — in golf
  12. swing — music
  13. key — the most important part
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. ground — crushed
  16. bat — the animal
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. mate — to breed
  19. pop — music
  20. stock — goods
  21. key — for a lock
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. key — in music
  24. stock — shares

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