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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. march — the month
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. wax — to grow
  8. rash — a series
  9. march — the month
  10. tube — the underground
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. tube — a container
  13. bat — the animal
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. season — of the year
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. rash — hasty
  22. season — in sport
  23. fork — in a road
  24. march — music

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