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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. land — a country
  3. clip — for paper
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. wax — to grow
  8. rush — hurry
  9. clip — a video
  10. root — of a word
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. mug — a face
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. clip — to cut
  15. root — the cause
  16. spell — letters
  17. mug — a cup
  18. root — of a plant
  19. mug — to rob
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. spell — a short time
  22. land — to come down
  23. spell — magic
  24. land — ground

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