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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. board — a committee
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. drill — the tool
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. board — to get on
  7. land — ground
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. drill — a practice
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. clip — a video
  14. drill — army training
  15. bear — the animal
  16. land — to come down
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. wax — to grow
  20. clip — to cut
  21. clip — for paper
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. bear — the animal
  24. land — a country

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