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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. wax — to grow
  4. clip — a video
  5. spring — the season
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. game — wild animals
  8. bank — for money
  9. shower — rain
  10. shower — to wash
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. spring — of water
  15. clip — to cut
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. snap — to click
  18. spring — a coil
  19. bank — for money
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. clip — for paper
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. game — a match
  24. bank — of a river

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