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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. rush — hurry
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. march — music
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. file — a tool
  11. wax — to grow
  12. file — a document
  13. file — a line of people
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. mark — a trace
  18. march — the month
  19. cue — for pool
  20. mark — a grade
  21. cue — a signal
  22. bat — the animal
  23. march — the month
  24. cue — a hint

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