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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. spring — a coil
  3. mark — a grade
  4. cue — a signal
  5. spring — of water
  6. file — a tool
  7. pop — to visit
  8. wax — to grow
  9. content — the amount
  10. file — a line of people
  11. file — a document
  12. ground — the earth
  13. cue — for pool
  14. mark — a trace
  15. ground — a position
  16. content — happy
  17. ground — crushed
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. pop — music
  20. spring — the season
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. pop — soda
  24. cue — a hint

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