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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. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. date — the fruit
  3. field — farmland
  4. field — for sport
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. rest — what's left
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. field — a subject
  10. spell — a short time
  11. spell — magic
  12. spell — letters
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. wax — to grow
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wake — a trail
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. rest — what's left
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. rest — a break
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. wind — moving air

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