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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. present — a gift
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wax — to grow
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. swing — in golf
  8. kid — to tease
  9. kid — child
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. present — the time now
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. dip — to sink
  14. drill — a practice
  15. swing — to play on
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. present — there
  18. swing — music
  19. drill — the tool
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. drill — army training
  24. wind — moving air

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