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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. saw — the tool
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. mate — to breed
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. clip — to cut
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. capital — money
  12. rash — a series
  13. wax — to grow
  14. rash — hasty
  15. board — a committee
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. board — to get on
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. capital — a city
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. mate — a friend
  22. clip — for paper
  23. mate — a partner
  24. clip — a video

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