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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 116 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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. cue — a signal
  3. cap — a lid
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. cap — a hat
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. clip — to cut
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. clip — for paper
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. kid — to tease
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. cue — for pool
  17. cap — of ice
  18. pitch — completely
  19. clip — a video
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. cue — a hint
  22. wax — to grow
  23. bat — the animal
  24. kid — child

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