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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 124 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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. mate — a friend
  4. fine — high quality
  5. march — the month
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. net — in sport
  8. wind — moving air
  9. march — the month
  10. mine — for digging
  11. cell — a phone
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. wax — to grow
  14. mate — to breed
  15. fine — all right
  16. wind — moving air
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. net — after costs
  19. mate — a partner
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. cell — in biology
  23. net — for catching
  24. mine — belonging to me

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