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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 124 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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. rest — a break
  6. net — in sport
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. tube — the underground
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. rest — what's left
  13. net — after costs
  14. tube — a container
  15. stand — to bear
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. rest — what's left
  18. clip — for paper
  19. clip — to cut
  20. wax — to grow
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. clip — a video
  23. branch — a division
  24. net — for catching

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