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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. cue — for pool
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. march — the month
  5. file — a document
  6. wax — to grow
  7. wound — an injury
  8. fork — in a road
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. march — music
  11. ground — a position
  12. file — a tool
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. file — a line of people
  15. cue — a hint
  16. cue — a signal
  17. march — the month
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. ground — the earth
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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