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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. bound — obliged
  3. season — in sport
  4. bound — certain
  5. cap — of ice
  6. bat — the animal
  7. cap — a hat
  8. bound — tied together
  9. rest — a break
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. wax — to grow
  12. rest — what's left
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. sharp — clever
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. cap — a lid
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. season — of the year
  23. rest — what's left
  24. wax — for sculpting

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