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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. court — of law
  5. mark — a trace
  6. scale — in music
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. clip — for paper
  9. court — for sport
  10. wax — to grow
  11. spring — the season
  12. spring — a coil
  13. net — after costs
  14. spring — of water
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. net — in sport
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. net — for catching
  20. scale — size or range
  21. clip — to cut
  22. court — of a king
  23. clip — a video
  24. mark — a grade

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