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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. season — of the year
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. kid — child
  6. track — a path
  7. clip — to cut
  8. kid — to tease
  9. track — to keep track
  10. season — in sport
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. clip — a video
  14. wound — an injury
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. wax — to grow
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. tube — the underground
  20. clip — for paper
  21. track — a song
  22. tube — a container
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. wound — an injury

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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