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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. mate — to breed
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. wind — moving air
  5. mate — a partner
  6. clip — a video
  7. deal — to handle
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. clip — to cut
  11. key — for a lock
  12. mate — a friend
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. key — the most important part
  17. key — in music
  18. wax — to grow
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. wind — moving air
  22. prune — to trim
  23. prune — to trim
  24. clip — for paper

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