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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 train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. land — a country
  8. land — ground
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. land — to come down
  15. wax — to grow
  16. stand — to bear
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. snap — to click
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. season — in sport
  23. season — of the year
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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