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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. content — happy
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. content — the amount
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. clip — to cut
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. clip — a video
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. wax — to grow
  19. file — a tool
  20. file — a document
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. scale — size or range
  23. scale — in music
  24. clip — for paper

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