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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. march — the month
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. key — for a lock
  5. track — a song
  6. march — music
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. rest — a break
  9. wound — an injury
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. wound — an injury
  12. snap — to click
  13. rest — what's left
  14. key — the most important part
  15. march — the month
  16. wax — to grow
  17. key — in music
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. stock — shares
  20. rest — what's left
  21. stock — goods
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. track — to keep track
  24. track — a path

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