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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. wax — to grow
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. firm — a company
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. firm — decided
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. kid — to tease
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. stand — to bear
  12. bass — the fish
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. clip — to cut
  15. bat — the animal
  16. firm — steady
  17. bass — low music
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. clip — for paper
  21. clip — a video
  22. kid — child
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. stand — for spectators

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