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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. pit — in a race
  3. band — a ring
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. can — a tin
  6. band — a music group
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. can — a tin
  10. ground — crushed
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. can — to be able to
  13. ground — a position
  14. wax — to grow
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. last — finally
  17. last — final
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. last — to go on
  20. ground — the earth
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. clip — to cut
  23. clip — a video
  24. clip — for paper

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