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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. wind — moving air
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. bore — to drill
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. field — for sport
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. field — a subject
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. field — farmland
  17. wax — to grow
  18. stem — to come from
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. pound — a weight
  21. bore — to tire
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. wind — moving air
  24. straw — dry grass

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