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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. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. bulb — for light
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. game — a match
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. clip — for paper
  8. last — final
  9. wax — to grow
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. board — to get on
  12. last — finally
  13. last — to go on
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. clip — to cut
  16. clip — a video
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. net — after costs
  19. game — wild animals
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. board — a committee
  22. bulb — for light
  23. net — in sport
  24. bowl — a football final

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