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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're almost out of ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. pop — soda
  3. pop — music
  4. scale — size or range
  5. pop — to visit
  6. prune — to trim
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. scale — in music
  9. board — to get on
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. prune — to trim
  12. plane — a tool
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. stock — goods
  15. stock — shares
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. wax — to grow
  22. board — a committee
  23. mine — for digging
  24. mine — belonging to me

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