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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. march — the month
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. march — music
  6. present — a gift
  7. net — in sport
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. present — there
  11. rock — a stone
  12. net — after costs
  13. march — the month
  14. present — the time now
  15. net — for catching
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. pitch — completely
  18. wind — moving air
  19. rock — music
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wax — to grow
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. wax — in the ear

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