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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 120 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 ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. court — of law
  3. rush — hurry
  4. capital — money
  5. deal — to handle
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. cell — in biology
  12. capital — a city
  13. key — in music
  14. court — for sport
  15. key — the most important part
  16. cell — a phone
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. court — of a king
  19. bark — to shout
  20. key — for a lock
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. wax — to grow

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