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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. wax — to grow
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. stand — to bear
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. pop — to visit
  7. fine — high quality
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. drill — a practice
  10. pop — music
  11. drill — army training
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. pop — soda
  14. clip — for paper
  15. drill — the tool
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. fine — all right
  20. tear — from crying
  21. tear — to rip
  22. clip — a video
  23. tear — from crying
  24. wake — a trail

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