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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 band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. march — the month
  6. scale — size or range
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. clip — a video
  9. scale — in music
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. bore — to tire
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. clip — to cut
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. march — the month
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. wax — to grow
  22. bore — to drill
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. clip — for paper

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