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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 116 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 took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. clip — to cut
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. mate — a friend
  5. mate — to breed
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. march — music
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. wax — to grow
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. march — the month
  13. clip — for paper
  14. capital — money
  15. net — in sport
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. capital — a city
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. sharp — clever
  20. clip — a video
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. mate — a partner
  23. net — after costs
  24. march — the month

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