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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. mug — to rob
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. board — a committee
  6. pit — in a race
  7. wax — to grow
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. board — to get on
  10. clip — for paper
  11. fine — high quality
  12. march — music
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. march — the month
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. clip — a video
  18. cell — a phone
  19. mug — a cup
  20. pit — a hole
  21. mug — a face
  22. march — the month
  23. cell — in biology
  24. clip — to cut

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