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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. march — the month
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. march — music
  5. mug — a face
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. wax — to grow
  8. clip — for paper
  9. mug — to rob
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. march — the month
  12. craft — boats
  13. mug — a cup
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. craft — a skill
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. clip — a video
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. clip — to cut
  24. pitcher — a jug

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