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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. pass — a permit
  3. march — the month
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. march — the month
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. plane — a tool
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. wax — to grow
  16. sharp — clever
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. scale — in music
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. tube — the underground
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. march — music
  23. tube — a container
  24. bat — the animal

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