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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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. foot — a measure
  3. clip — for paper
  4. wax — to grow
  5. kid — child
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. clip — a video
  9. land — ground
  10. land — a country
  11. scale — size or range
  12. kid — to tease
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. tube — the underground
  15. chair — a leader
  16. tube — a container
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. land — to come down
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. clip — to cut
  24. scale — for weighing

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