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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 120 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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. last — final
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. fork — in a road
  5. wax — to grow
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. file — a document
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. staff — employees
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. file — a line of people
  12. file — a tool
  13. last — finally
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. last — to go on
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. staff — a stick
  19. staff — employees
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. pop — to visit
  22. pop — soda
  23. pop — music
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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