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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. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. roll — a cake
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. capital — a city
  8. vault — a safe
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. wax — to grow
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. scale — size or range
  17. capital — money
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. lie — to recline
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. roll — a list
  23. fork — in a road
  24. scale — in music

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