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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. bat — the animal
  3. clip — to cut
  4. squash — the sport
  5. cue — a hint
  6. rest — what's left
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. clip — for paper
  9. cue — a signal
  10. cap — of ice
  11. squash — to crush
  12. rest — what's left
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. cue — for pool
  18. kick — in football
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. cap — a lid
  21. cap — a hat
  22. wax — to grow
  23. clip — a video
  24. bat — for baseball

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