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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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. tube — a container
  4. kid — to tease
  5. kid — child
  6. last — to go on
  7. rule — a law
  8. tube — the underground
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. root — of a word
  11. rule — government
  12. mark — a grade
  13. spring — the season
  14. spring — a coil
  15. spring — of water
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. root — of a plant
  19. wax — to grow
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. last — finally
  22. root — the cause
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. mark — a trace

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