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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. net — for catching
  6. date — the fruit
  7. shower — rain
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. wax — to grow
  11. clip — for paper
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. can — a tin
  15. net — in sport
  16. swing — music
  17. shower — to wash
  18. swing — in golf
  19. can — to be able to
  20. clip — to cut
  21. clip — a video
  22. can — a tin
  23. swing — to play on
  24. net — after costs

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