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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. wax — to grow
  4. track — to keep track
  5. track — a song
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. drill — the tool
  8. rash — a series
  9. prune — to trim
  10. mug — a cup
  11. chest — a box
  12. date — the fruit
  13. rash — hasty
  14. chest — of your body
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. drill — a practice
  17. mug — a face
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. prune — to trim
  20. drill — army training
  21. track — a path
  22. chest — of your body
  23. mug — to rob
  24. date — on the calendar

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