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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. wind — moving air
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. swing — music
  5. squash — to crush
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. wind — moving air
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. clip — to cut
  10. clip — a video
  11. prune — to trim
  12. swing — to play on
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. wax — to grow
  15. prune — to trim
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. vault — a safe
  18. swing — in golf
  19. squash — the sport
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. perch — the fish
  24. wax — for sculpting

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