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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. wax — to grow
  3. board — a committee
  4. court — of law
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. board — to get on
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. chip — to eat
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. chip — for betting
  13. court — of a king
  14. prune — to trim
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. wake — a trail
  17. court — for sport
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. game — a match
  21. prune — to trim
  22. game — wild animals
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. wax — for sculpting

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