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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. mate — a partner
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. game — a match
  5. game — wild animals
  6. bore — to drill
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. clip — a video
  9. mate — a friend
  10. root — the cause
  11. root — of a word
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. mine — for digging
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. clip — for paper
  18. root — of a plant
  19. wax — to grow
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. clip — to cut
  22. bore — to tire
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. mate — to breed

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