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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 120 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 got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  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. fine — a penalty
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. fine — high quality
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. fine — all right
  8. file — a tool
  9. wax — to grow
  10. drill — a practice
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. drill — the tool
  13. file — a document
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. season — in sport
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. drill — army training
  18. rock — a stone
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. season — of the year
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. rock — music
  23. racket — for tennis
  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