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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. When will it ________________ you to start?
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. suit — in cards
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. mark — a grade
  8. mine — for digging
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. clip — to cut
  11. kid — to tease
  12. clip — for paper
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. mark — a trace
  16. kid — child
  17. suit — clothes
  18. clip — a video
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. board — a committee
  21. board — to get on
  22. suit — to fit
  23. wax — to grow
  24. mine — an explosive

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