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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. season — in sport
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. bound — tied together
  6. lean — to bend
  7. key — the most important part
  8. file — a document
  9. bass — the fish
  10. bound — obliged
  11. key — in music
  12. season — of the year
  13. file — a line of people
  14. bound — certain
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. bass — low music
  17. wax — to grow
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. file — a tool
  20. key — for a lock
  21. vault — a safe
  22. lean — thin
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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