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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 124 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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. net — for catching
  3. march — the month
  4. spell — letters
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. net — after costs
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. spell — magic
  9. staff — employees
  10. net — in sport
  11. wax — to grow
  12. staff — employees
  13. pass — a permit
  14. clip — a video
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. board — a committee
  18. board — to get on
  19. clip — to cut
  20. clip — for paper
  21. march — the month
  22. staff — a stick
  23. spell — a short time
  24. march — music

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