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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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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 line
  3. capital — a city
  4. date — the fruit
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. wax — to grow
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. toast — bread
  14. tube — the underground
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. capital — money
  17. board — to get on
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. row — to paddle
  23. board — a committee
  24. tube — a container

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