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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. clip — to cut
  3. wax — to grow
  4. kid — child
  5. kid — to tease
  6. bass — the fish
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. clip — a video
  10. bass — low music
  11. stem — to come from
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. foot — a measure
  15. last — final
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. last — to go on
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. last — finally
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. wax — for sculpting

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