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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. season — of the year
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. branch — a division
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. chest — of your body
  7. chest — a box
  8. wind — moving air
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. wind — moving air
  11. tear — from crying
  12. tear — from crying
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. pass — a permit
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. season — in sport
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. chest — of your body
  22. wax — to grow
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. tear — to rip

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