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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. wax — to grow
  7. file — a line of people
  8. rest — a break
  9. cap — of ice
  10. mate — a partner
  11. file — a document
  12. file — a tool
  13. mate — to breed
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. rest — what's left
  16. rest — what's left
  17. track — a song
  18. track — a path
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. row — a line
  21. cap — a lid
  22. track — to keep track
  23. cap — a hat
  24. row — to paddle

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