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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. snap — to click
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. kid — to tease
  6. pitch — completely
  7. mate — a friend
  8. field — for sport
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. clip — to cut
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. clip — for paper
  13. wax — to grow
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. field — a subject
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. field — farmland
  19. mate — to breed
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. clip — a video
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. kid — child
  24. mate — a partner

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