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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. vault — a safe
  3. tear — from crying
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. wax — to grow
  6. tear — from crying
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. chest — of your body
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. season — in sport
  11. tear — to rip
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. last — finally
  14. season — of the year
  15. last — to go on
  16. chest — of your body
  17. key — the most important part
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. last — final
  21. chest — a box
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. key — in music
  24. key — for a lock

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