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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. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. rash — a series
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. foot — a measure
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. clip — for paper
  9. rash — hasty
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. saw — the tool
  13. mark — a trace
  14. present — the time now
  15. pitch — completely
  16. clip — a video
  17. present — there
  18. present — a gift
  19. clip — to cut
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. wax — to grow
  22. mark — a grade
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. saw — the tool

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