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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. pit — in a race
  3. land — ground
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. march — the month
  8. wax — to grow
  9. pound — a weight
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. march — the month
  15. clip — for paper
  16. spell — magic
  17. clip — a video
  18. land — a country
  19. spell — letters
  20. spell — a short time
  21. march — music
  22. land — to come down
  23. clip — to cut
  24. pit — a hole

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