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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 soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. drill — army training
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. bore — to tire
  5. root — of a plant
  6. rock — music
  7. spring — a coil
  8. spring — of water
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. bore — to drill
  11. root — the cause
  12. degree — an amount
  13. spring — the season
  14. drill — a practice
  15. degree — from a university
  16. drill — the tool
  17. rock — a stone
  18. season — in sport
  19. wax — to grow
  20. season — of the year
  21. degree — temperature
  22. root — of a word
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. bore — gave birth

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