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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 116 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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. chair — a leader
  3. wax — to grow
  4. last — finally
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. object — to protest
  7. rest — what's left
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. spell — letters
  10. last — final
  11. rest — a break
  12. last — to go on
  13. spell — magic
  14. spell — a short time
  15. scale — in music
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. rest — what's left
  18. object — an aim
  19. object — a thing
  20. pound — a weight
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. scale — size or range
  24. scale — for weighing

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