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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. clip — to cut
  3. rest — what's left
  4. stock — goods
  5. clip — for paper
  6. hand — in cards
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. charge — in control
  9. charge — electricity
  10. rest — what's left
  11. hand — help
  12. key — for a lock
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. rest — a break
  15. stock — shares
  16. wax — to grow
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. key — in music
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. key — the most important part
  23. charge — a price
  24. clip — a video

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