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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. ground — crushed
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. kid — child
  8. face — part of the head
  9. face — to confront
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. ground — the earth
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. wax — to grow
  16. kid — to tease
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. face — to point toward
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. pitch — completely
  23. ground — a position
  24. rash — a series

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