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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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. scale — in music
  3. firm — decided
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. field — farmland
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. can — to be able to
  8. can — a tin
  9. field — for sport
  10. scale — size or range
  11. race — the arms race
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. chair — a leader
  14. race — humankind
  15. prune — to trim
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. prune — to trim
  18. race — a contest
  19. firm — a company
  20. wax — to grow
  21. firm — steady
  22. field — a subject
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. can — a tin

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