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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. club — a group
  8. club — for dancing
  9. club — for golf
  10. bore — to drill
  11. can — to be able to
  12. face — to point toward
  13. face — to confront
  14. wax — to grow
  15. can — a tin
  16. can — a tin
  17. pitch — completely
  18. cold — not warm
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. face — part of the head
  21. bore — to tire
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. jam — to spread on bread
  24. cold — the Cold War

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