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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. rash — hasty
  4. pop — to visit
  5. ball — a great time
  6. rash — a series
  7. face — to confront
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. squash — the sport
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. drill — a practice
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. ball — a dance
  15. wax — to grow
  16. pop — soda
  17. drill — army training
  18. face — to point toward
  19. face — part of the head
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. drill — the tool
  22. squash — to crush
  23. pop — music
  24. squash — the vegetable

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