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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. tear — to rip
  4. wax — to grow
  5. spell — a short time
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. vault — a safe
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. tear — from crying
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. file — a tool
  14. spell — letters
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. spell — magic
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. tear — from crying
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. date — the fruit
  22. file — a document
  23. file — a line of people
  24. date — on the calendar

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