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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 120 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 ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. wound — an injury
  4. rash — a series
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. kick — in football
  8. rash — hasty
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. bear — the animal
  11. bear — the animal
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. race — the arms race
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. race — humankind
  17. deal — to handle
  18. wound — an injury
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. wax — to grow
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. race — a contest

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