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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. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. rush — hurry
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. bound — tied together
  8. rest — what's left
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. last — final
  11. mine — for digging
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. wax — to grow
  15. last — to go on
  16. tube — the underground
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. rest — what's left
  19. date — the fruit
  20. last — finally
  21. bound — obliged
  22. tube — a container
  23. bound — certain
  24. rest — a break

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