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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 ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. wax — to grow
  4. swing — music
  5. fall — the season
  6. swing — to play on
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. mark — a grade
  10. fall — to drop
  11. swing — in golf
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. fall — to drop
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. cold — an illness
  19. face — part of the head
  20. face — to confront
  21. mark — a trace
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. face — to point toward
  24. cold — not warm

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