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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. mate — a partner
  4. wind — moving air
  5. cue — a hint
  6. wax — to grow
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. wind — moving air
  9. file — a tool
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. cue — for pool
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. file — a document
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. cue — a signal
  16. stand — to bear
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. mate — to breed
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. mate — a friend
  23. file — a line of people
  24. calf — of the leg

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