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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. wax — to grow
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. clip — a video
  7. clip — to cut
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. drill — a practice
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. chair — a leader
  13. drill — army training
  14. mate — a friend
  15. clip — for paper
  16. mate — to breed
  17. bat — the animal
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. mate — a partner
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. deal — to handle
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. drill — the tool
  24. chair — to sit on

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