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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. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. capital — a city
  4. wax — to grow
  5. rest — a break
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. plane — a tool
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. press — a publisher
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. rest — what's left
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. kick — in football
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. capital — money
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. press — newspapers
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. rest — what's left
  21. press — to push
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. kick — with a leg

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