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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. row — a line
  7. pass — a permit
  8. cold — not warm
  9. mug — a face
  10. clip — to cut
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. mug — a cup
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. clip — a video
  17. row — to paddle
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. cold — an illness
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. clip — for paper
  22. wax — to grow
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. cold — the Cold War

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