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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. race — a contest
  5. season — of the year
  6. wax — to grow
  7. saw — the tool
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. tear — from crying
  14. season — in sport
  15. chair — a leader
  16. race — humankind
  17. tear — from crying
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. present — a gift
  20. race — the arms race
  21. tear — to rip
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. present — the time now
  24. present — there

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