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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 120 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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. tube — the underground
  3. suit — to fit
  4. pop — music
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. clip — to cut
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. clip — for paper
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. suit — clothes
  15. object — a thing
  16. suit — in cards
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. object — to protest
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. object — an aim
  21. tube — a container
  22. clip — a video
  23. pop — soda
  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