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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. scale — size or range
  4. can — to be able to
  5. clip — a video
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. ground — the earth
  9. march — music
  10. ground — crushed
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. scale — in music
  13. march — the month
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. wax — to grow
  17. dip — to sink
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. march — the month
  20. clip — for paper
  21. can — a tin
  22. can — a tin
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. clip — to cut

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