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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. deal — to handle
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. capital — a city
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. season — in sport
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. wax — to grow
  13. rash — hasty
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. face — part of the head
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. face — to point toward
  20. rash — a series
  21. capital — money
  22. season — of the year
  23. face — to confront
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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