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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. wax — to grow
  4. clip — for paper
  5. dip — to sink
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. clip — a video
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. clip — to cut
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. game — a match
  15. prune — to trim
  16. snap — to click
  17. prune — to trim
  18. game — wild animals

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