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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  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. wake — before a funeral
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. wake — a trail
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. tube — the underground
  7. kick — in football
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. game — a match
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. bat — the animal
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. tube — a container
  17. prune — to trim
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. game — wild animals
  21. prune — to trim
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. bat — for baseball
  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