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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 124 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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. roll — a list
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. clip — a video
  6. club — for dancing
  7. roll — a cake
  8. club — for golf
  9. clip — to cut
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. game — a match
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. club — a group
  14. craft — a skill
  15. craft — boats
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. game — wild animals
  19. clip — for paper
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. net — for catching
  22. wax — to grow
  23. net — after costs
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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