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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. ground — the earth
  4. ground — a position
  5. pit — in a race
  6. bark — to shout
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. degree — from a university
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. ball — a dance
  15. lean — to bend
  16. ball — a great time
  17. degree — temperature
  18. ground — crushed
  19. lean — thin
  20. pit — a hole
  21. degree — an amount
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. wax — to grow

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