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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. file — a line of people
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. kid — child
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. file — a document
  12. ball — a great time
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. season — in sport
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. kid — to tease
  17. ball — a dance
  18. file — a tool
  19. season — of the year
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. wax — to grow
  22. fine — all right
  23. snap — to click
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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