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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. David sat on the ________________.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. swing — to play on
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. snap — to click
  5. drill — army training
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. swing — in golf
  8. wax — to grow
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. drill — the tool
  15. drill — a practice
  16. bat — the animal
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. swing — music
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. branch — a division
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. wax — for sculpting

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