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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. ball — a great time
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. tube — a container
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. tube — the underground
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. sharp — clever
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. ball — a dance
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. wax — to grow
  21. dip — to sink
  22. pit — in a race
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. pit — a hole

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