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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. wax — to grow
  3. plane — a tool
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. tube — the underground
  9. degree — from a university
  10. degree — an amount
  11. root — the cause
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. root — of a plant
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. tube — a container
  19. degree — temperature
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. date — the fruit
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. root — of a word

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