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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. mug — a cup
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. saw — the tool
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. drill — a practice
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. drill — the tool
  9. clip — to cut
  10. drill — army training
  11. clip — for paper
  12. net — in sport
  13. bulb — for light
  14. wax — to grow
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. bulb — for light
  19. net — for catching
  20. mug — to rob
  21. clip — a video
  22. saw — the tool
  23. net — after costs
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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