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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. spell — magic
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. clip — for paper
  8. pit — in a race
  9. row — to paddle
  10. clip — to cut
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. clip — a video
  13. spell — a short time
  14. last — to go on
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. last — final
  17. spell — letters
  18. pit — a hole
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. stand — to bear
  22. wax — to grow
  23. last — finally
  24. wax — for sculpting

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