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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. net — after costs
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. row — a line
  7. pitch — completely
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. net — for catching
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. mine — for digging
  13. chest — of your body
  14. row — to paddle
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. ball — a great time
  17. ball — a dance
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. chest — of your body
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. chest — a box
  23. net — in sport
  24. wax — to grow

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