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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. file — a line of people
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. ground — the earth
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. cold — an illness
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. file — a tool
  11. file — a document
  12. ground — a position
  13. cue — for pool
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. wax — to grow
  17. cue — a signal
  18. cold — not warm
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. stem — to come from
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. ground — crushed

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