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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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. When will it ________________ you to start?
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. kid — to tease
  3. prune — to trim
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. saw — the tool
  6. suit — clothes
  7. wound — an injury
  8. scale — size or range
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. kid — child
  11. wax — to grow
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. saw — the tool
  15. clip — a video
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. clip — to cut
  19. wound — an injury
  20. clip — for paper
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. suit — to fit
  23. scale — in music
  24. prune — to trim

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