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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. object — an aim
  3. kid — to tease
  4. track — to keep track
  5. root — of a word
  6. wound — an injury
  7. rock — music
  8. rock — a stone
  9. fine — all right
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. kid — child
  12. wax — to grow
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. track — a song
  15. fine — high quality
  16. object — a thing
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. object — to protest
  20. track — a path
  21. wound — an injury
  22. root — the cause
  23. root — of a plant
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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