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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. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. cue — a signal
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wax — to grow
  5. shower — to wash
  6. bulb — for light
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. wind — moving air
  9. swing — music
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. cue — a hint
  12. swing — to play on
  13. swing — in golf
  14. content — the amount
  15. mug — to rob
  16. mug — a face
  17. content — happy
  18. mug — a cup
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. shower — rain
  21. cue — for pool
  22. bulb — for light
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. wax — for sculpting

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