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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. key — the most important part
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. bound — certain
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. wax — to grow
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. bound — obliged
  11. key — for a lock
  12. key — in music
  13. capital — a city
  14. chip — for betting
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. prune — to trim
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. bound — tied together
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. chip — to eat
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. capital — money
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. prune — to trim

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