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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. tube — the underground
  5. tube — a container
  6. mark — a trace
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. row — to paddle
  9. cold — not warm
  10. cold — an illness
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. mate — a partner
  14. mark — a grade
  15. row — a line
  16. swing — music
  17. snap — to click
  18. mate — a friend
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. swing — in golf
  21. wax — to grow
  22. swing — to play on
  23. mate — to breed
  24. cold — the Cold War

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