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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 116 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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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. face — to point toward
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. last — final
  6. cue — a hint
  7. race — the arms race
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. face — part of the head
  10. ball — a great time
  11. cue — a signal
  12. last — finally
  13. race — humankind
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. squash — the sport
  16. ball — a dance
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. last — to go on
  19. face — to confront
  20. squash — to crush
  21. wax — to grow
  22. scale — size or range
  23. race — a contest
  24. cue — for pool

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