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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. march — the month
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. rule — a law
  7. hand — in cards
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. march — the month
  10. rule — government
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. rash — hasty
  13. wax — to grow
  14. march — music
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. rash — a series
  17. hand — help
  18. plane — a tool
  19. wind — moving air
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. wind — moving air
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. wound — an injury

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