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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 120 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. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. rash — hasty
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. clip — for paper
  8. clip — to cut
  9. pitch — completely
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. mate — to breed
  12. rash — a series
  13. wax — to grow
  14. mate — a friend
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. mate — a partner
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. clip — a video
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. stem — to come from

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