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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. pitch — completely
  3. mate — a partner
  4. mate — to breed
  5. clip — for paper
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. tube — the underground
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. drill — army training
  11. drill — a practice
  12. wax — to grow
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. rock — a stone
  15. clip — to cut
  16. drill — the tool
  17. rock — music
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. tube — a container
  21. mine — for digging
  22. clip — a video
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. rock — to move gently

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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