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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. march — the month
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. current — happening now
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. current — electric
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. march — music
  11. march — the month
  12. clip — to cut
  13. saw — the tool
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. rash — a series
  16. current — of water
  17. wax — to grow
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. rash — hasty
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. clip — for paper
  22. clip — a video
  23. saw — the tool
  24. hide — animal skin

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