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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 kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. bound — tied together
  4. wax — to grow
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. ball — a great time
  7. lean — thin
  8. spring — a coil
  9. land — to come down
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. bound — certain
  12. swing — in golf
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. bound — obliged
  15. swing — music
  16. swing — to play on
  17. spring — of water
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. ball — a dance
  20. lean — to bend
  21. land — a country
  22. land — ground
  23. spring — the season
  24. lean — to rest against

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