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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  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. season — to add flavour
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. row — a line
  4. season — of the year
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. kick — in football
  7. season — in sport
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. spring — a coil
  11. sharp — clever
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. spring — the season
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. spring — of water
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. row — to paddle
  20. wax — to grow
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. kick — with a leg
  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