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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. net — in sport
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. march — music
  6. sharp — clever
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. net — for catching
  9. staff — a stick
  10. march — the month
  11. mate — a partner
  12. net — after costs
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. staff — employees
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. march — the month
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. mate — a friend
  21. staff — employees
  22. wax — to grow
  23. foot — a measure
  24. mate — to breed

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