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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. chest — of your body
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. wax — to grow
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. chest — a box
  11. mine — for digging
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. fork — in a road
  14. stand — to bear
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. board — a committee
  17. chest — of your body
  18. shower — to wash
  19. shower — rain
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. board — to get on
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. fork — a garden tool

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