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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 116 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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. snap — to click
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. wax — to grow
  6. fall — the season
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. pop — soda
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. fall — to drop
  11. race — humankind
  12. season — in sport
  13. bear — the animal
  14. race — the arms race
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. fall — to drop
  19. pop — music
  20. race — a contest
  21. pop — to visit
  22. season — of the year
  23. bear — the animal
  24. wax — for sculpting

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