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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. current — electric
  3. ball — a great time
  4. wax — to grow
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. cue — for pool
  7. scale — in music
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. cue — a hint
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. branch — a division
  14. band — a ring
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. scale — size or range
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. ball — a dance
  21. current — happening now
  22. current — of water
  23. cue — a signal
  24. band — a music group

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