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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. clip — a video
  7. clip — for paper
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. track — a song
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. chest — of your body
  12. track — to keep track
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. mark — a grade
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. wax — to grow
  17. mark — a trace
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. track — a path
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. clip — to cut
  22. chest — a box
  23. stand — to bear
  24. racket — for tennis

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