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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. lean — to bend
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. ground — crushed
  5. chair — a leader
  6. squash — to crush
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. kid — child
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. spell — letters
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. kid — to tease
  15. ground — a position
  16. lean — thin
  17. rash — a series
  18. squash — the sport
  19. spell — a short time
  20. ground — the earth
  21. spell — magic
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. wax — to grow
  24. rash — hasty

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