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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. mate — a friend
  7. chair — a leader
  8. net — for catching
  9. file — a tool
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. mate — to breed
  12. net — after costs
  13. file — a document
  14. stand — to bear
  15. net — in sport
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. wax — to grow
  21. pass — a permit
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. mate — a partner
  24. file — a line of people

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