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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 captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. board — to get on
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. bound — obliged
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. bound — certain
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. prune — to trim
  13. bound — tied together
  14. board — a committee
  15. march — the month
  16. wind — moving air
  17. prune — to trim
  18. march — the month
  19. wind — moving air
  20. march — music
  21. wax — to grow
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. pitch — completely
  24. pitch — a sports field

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