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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. file — a line of people
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. file — a document
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. clip — a video
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. club — for dancing
  12. club — a group
  13. wax — to grow
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. bat — the animal
  16. clip — to cut
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. clip — for paper
  19. rest — what's left
  20. rest — what's left
  21. club — for golf
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. rest — a break
  24. file — a tool

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