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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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. key — in music
  3. chest — of your body
  4. content — happy
  5. key — for a lock
  6. bear — the animal
  7. chest — of your body
  8. bear — the animal
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. scale — size or range
  13. chest — a box
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. scale — in music
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. cap — of ice
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. cap — a lid
  20. wax — to grow
  21. content — the amount
  22. cap — a hat
  23. key — the most important part
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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