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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. race — a contest
  7. race — humankind
  8. wake — a trail
  9. wax — to grow
  10. bark — to shout
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. mine — for digging
  13. race — the arms race
  14. wound — an injury
  15. wound — an injury
  16. fall — the season
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. fall — to drop
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. fall — to drop
  24. mouse — for a computer

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