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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. kick — in football
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. drill — the tool
  5. drill — army training
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. file — a tool
  8. mate — a partner
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. wax — to grow
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. swing — music
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. drill — a practice
  15. file — a document
  16. swing — to play on
  17. mate — a friend
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. perch — the fish
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. mate — to breed
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. swing — in golf
  24. file — a line of people

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