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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. object — a thing
  4. chest — of your body
  5. wax — to grow
  6. lie — to recline
  7. chest — of your body
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. key — the most important part
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. deal — to handle
  13. file — a tool
  14. file — a document
  15. key — for a lock
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. object — to protest
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. file — a line of people
  22. key — in music
  23. chest — a box
  24. deal — an agreement

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