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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. board — a committee
  3. spring — the season
  4. wax — to grow
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. file — a document
  7. file — a line of people
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. clip — a video
  11. toast — bread
  12. file — a tool
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. clip — to cut
  17. spring — a coil
  18. kid — to tease
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. jam — to spread on bread
  21. clip — for paper
  22. board — to get on
  23. spring — of water
  24. jam — in traffic

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