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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 116 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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. march — music
  3. bat — the animal
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. march — the month
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. band — a music group
  12. saw — the tool
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. plane — a tool
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. march — the month
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. band — a ring
  20. saw — the tool
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. mine — for digging
  24. wax — to grow

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