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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. staff — employees
  3. clip — a video
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. spring — of water
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. wound — an injury
  8. dip — to sink
  9. clip — for paper
  10. spring — the season
  11. wound — an injury
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. clip — to cut
  14. spring — a coil
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. wax — to grow
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. staff — a stick
  22. staff — employees
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. dip — a sauce

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