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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 116 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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. fall — to drop
  4. spell — magic
  5. bass — low music
  6. can — a tin
  7. bass — the fish
  8. fall — the season
  9. fall — to drop
  10. game — wild animals
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. can — to be able to
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. game — a match
  15. spell — a short time
  16. can — a tin
  17. bear — the animal
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. drill — the tool
  20. drill — a practice
  21. spell — letters
  22. drill — army training
  23. wax — to grow
  24. bear — the animal

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