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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. bat — the animal
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. wax — to grow
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. net — in sport
  7. fall — to drop
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. clip — for paper
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. fall — the season
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. dip — to sink
  17. fall — to drop
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. clip — a video
  21. net — after costs
  22. clip — to cut
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. dip — to dunk

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