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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 120 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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. scale — in music
  3. stand — to bear
  4. chest — of your body
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. scale — size or range
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. wax — to grow
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. chest — a box
  12. chest — of your body
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. clip — a video
  15. rush — hurry
  16. perch — the fish
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. clip — to cut
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. clip — for paper

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