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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. net — after costs
  3. row — to paddle
  4. present — a gift
  5. track — a song
  6. race — humankind
  7. track — to keep track
  8. present — there
  9. wax — to grow
  10. race — the arms race
  11. net — for catching
  12. net — in sport
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. track — a path
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. present — the time now
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. row — a line
  20. chest — of your body
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. chest — a box
  23. race — a contest
  24. chest — of your body

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