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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. clip — to cut
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. clip — for paper
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. staff — employees
  14. bear — the animal
  15. bear — the animal
  16. clip — a video
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. staff — a stick
  19. ground — a position
  20. ground — the earth
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. wax — to grow
  23. staff — employees
  24. temple — side of the head

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