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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. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. rush — hurry
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. band — a music group
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. fall — to drop
  9. bass — the fish
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. fall — the season
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. date — the fruit
  16. wax — to grow
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. wind — moving air
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. band — a ring
  22. wind — moving air
  23. fall — to drop
  24. bass — low music

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