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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. mate — a partner
  3. spell — a short time
  4. clip — for paper
  5. rule — government
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. clip — to cut
  8. clip — a video
  9. ground — the earth
  10. spell — letters
  11. wax — to grow
  12. ground — crushed
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. spell — magic
  15. rule — a law
  16. ground — a position
  17. mate — to breed
  18. mate — a friend

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