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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. ground — the earth
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. rock — a stone
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. wax — to grow
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. cold — not warm
  12. chair — a leader
  13. clip — a video
  14. rock — music
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. clip — to cut
  18. ground — a position
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. ground — crushed
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. clip — for paper
  24. rock — to move gently

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