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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 120 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 tickets are free of ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. charge — a price
  3. rush — hurry
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. wax — to grow
  6. root — of a word
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. chair — a leader
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. root — the cause
  12. band — a music group
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. charge — electricity
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. charge — in control
  22. band — a ring
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. root — of a plant

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