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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. tear — from crying
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. tube — the underground
  5. tear — from crying
  6. roll — a cake
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. board — a committee
  9. wax — to grow
  10. tear — to rip
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. board — to get on
  13. fork — in a road
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. mark — a trace
  18. tube — a container
  19. mark — a grade
  20. wind — moving air
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. wind — moving air
  23. roll — a list
  24. tube — in a tire

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