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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 116 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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. row — a line
  3. pitch — completely
  4. bat — the animal
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. wax — to grow
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. pop — music
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. pop — soda
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. pop — to visit
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. tube — the underground
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. branch — a division
  20. tube — a container
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. row — to paddle
  24. bat — for baseball

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