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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. pound — a weight
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. fine — high quality
  5. fine — all right
  6. cue — for pool
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. staff — employees
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. bat — the animal
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. race — humankind
  13. race — a contest
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. cue — a signal
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. cue — a hint
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. staff — a stick
  21. staff — employees
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. race — the arms race
  24. wax — to grow

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