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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. staff — employees
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. staff — a stick
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. ground — crushed
  8. clip — for paper
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. ground — a position
  11. ground — the earth
  12. bat — the animal
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. staff — employees
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. craft — a skill
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. clip — a video
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. clip — to cut
  23. wax — to grow
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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