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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. key — for a lock
  4. march — the month
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. clip — for paper
  8. clip — to cut
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. kid — child
  12. branch — a division
  13. key — the most important part
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. kid — to tease
  16. clip — a video
  17. saw — the tool
  18. march — music
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. wax — to grow
  21. saw — the tool
  22. key — in music
  23. march — the month
  24. bowl — a dish

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