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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. clip — to cut
  4. plane — a tool
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. degree — from a university
  7. present — a gift
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. clip — a video
  13. present — the time now
  14. degree — temperature
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. pound — a weight
  17. clip — for paper
  18. sharp — clever
  19. wax — to grow
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. degree — an amount
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. present — there

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