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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. ground — crushed
  3. ground — the earth
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. court — for sport
  6. wax — to grow
  7. ground — a position
  8. rule — a law
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. cell — in biology
  11. roll — a list
  12. cell — a phone
  13. court — of law
  14. roll — a cake
  15. squash — the sport
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. court — of a king
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. clip — a video
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. clip — for paper
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. rule — government
  24. squash — to crush

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