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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 120 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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. march — the month
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. object — to protest
  6. clip — a video
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. march — the month
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. cell — in biology
  11. march — music
  12. cell — a phone
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. kick — in football
  16. clip — for paper
  17. object — an aim
  18. wax — to grow
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. chip — to eat
  22. object — a thing
  23. clip — to cut
  24. chip — for betting

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