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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 120 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. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. cue — a signal
  3. fine — high quality
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. cue — for pool
  6. march — music
  7. snap — to click
  8. march — the month
  9. cue — a hint
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. scale — size or range
  12. wound — an injury
  13. race — the arms race
  14. race — humankind
  15. fine — all right
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. scale — in music
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. wax — to grow
  21. march — the month
  22. race — a contest
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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