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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. lean — to bend
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. mine — for digging
  5. dip — to sink
  6. wax — to grow
  7. spell — a short time
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. hand — in cards
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. hand — help
  15. rule — a law
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. spell — letters
  18. lean — thin
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. spell — magic
  24. rule — government

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