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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. last — finally
  3. cap — a lid
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. net — in sport
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. wax — to grow
  10. last — final
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. cap — of ice
  13. ball — a dance
  14. clip — a video
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. ball — a great time
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. net — after costs
  19. chair — a leader
  20. clip — to cut
  21. clip — for paper
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. cap — a hat
  24. last — to go on

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