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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. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. cell — a phone
  7. cell — in biology
  8. season — of the year
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. season — in sport
  12. wax — to grow
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. march — the month
  18. bat — the animal
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. march — the month
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. sharp — clever
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. march — music

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