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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 always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. cap — a hat
  4. march — music
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. fork — in a road
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. wax — to grow
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. march — the month
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. race — the arms race
  16. bat — the animal
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. cap — of ice
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. march — the month
  22. race — a contest
  23. cap — a lid
  24. race — humankind

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