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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. bass — low music
  3. lean — thin
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. lean — to bend
  6. wax — to grow
  7. net — in sport
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. saw — the tool
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. dip — to sink
  16. mine — for digging
  17. bass — the fish
  18. net — for catching
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. net — after costs
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. saw — the tool

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