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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 116 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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. drill — army training
  4. can — a tin
  5. can — to be able to
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. mark — a grade
  8. mark — a trace
  9. drill — a practice
  10. wax — to grow
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. saw — the tool
  14. clip — a video
  15. drill — the tool
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. capital — a city
  18. clip — to cut
  19. can — a tin
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. saw — the tool
  22. perch — the fish
  23. capital — money
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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