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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. net — after costs
  3. content — happy
  4. mate — a friend
  5. pit — in a race
  6. mate — a partner
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. bulb — for light
  10. bulb — for light
  11. band — a ring
  12. last — finally
  13. wax — to grow
  14. last — final
  15. net — for catching
  16. last — to go on
  17. pit — a hole
  18. net — in sport
  19. band — a music group
  20. content — the amount
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. mate — to breed
  24. band — a rubber band

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