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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. staff — employees
  4. perch — the fish
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. mate — a partner
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. spring — of water
  10. rush — hurry
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. mate — a friend
  14. rash — hasty
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. staff — employees
  18. spring — the season
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. spring — a coil
  21. staff — a stick
  22. rash — a series
  23. mate — to breed
  24. wax — to grow

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