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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  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. season — to add flavour
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. ground — the earth
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. season — in sport
  6. fork — in a road
  7. clip — a video
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. ground — a position
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. sharp — clever
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. clip — to cut
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. season — of the year
  18. clip — for paper
  19. wax — to grow
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. deal — to handle
  23. ground — crushed
  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