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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. clip — a video
  3. clip — to cut
  4. capital — a city
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. last — final
  7. last — finally
  8. lie — to recline
  9. march — the month
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. march — music
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. hand — help
  18. march — the month
  19. last — to go on
  20. capital — money
  21. hand — in cards
  22. clip — for paper
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. wax — to grow

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