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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. net — in sport
  10. net — after costs
  11. net — for catching
  12. season — of the year
  13. saw — the tool
  14. season — in sport
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. wax — to grow
  17. cold — not warm
  18. deal — to handle
  19. saw — the tool
  20. cold — an illness
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. snap — to click

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