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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. clip — to cut
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. fine — all right
  6. fine — high quality
  7. rash — a series
  8. deal — to handle
  9. clip — a video
  10. rash — hasty
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. wax — to grow
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. clip — for paper
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. deal — a big deal

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