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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. clip — to cut
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. capital — a city
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. pit — a hole
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. cell — a phone
  9. clip — a video
  10. cell — in biology
  11. clip — for paper
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. prune — to trim
  14. pit — in a race
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. capital — money
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. deal — to handle
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. wax — to grow
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. prune — to trim
  24. capital — a big letter

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