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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 124 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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. suit — to fit
  3. rest — what's left
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. wax — to grow
  6. clip — a video
  7. clip — to cut
  8. charge — electricity
  9. rest — a break
  10. suit — clothes
  11. suit — in cards
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. charge — in control
  14. file — a tool
  15. wind — moving air
  16. file — a line of people
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. file — a document
  20. rest — what's left
  21. charge — a price
  22. clip — for paper
  23. mate — a friend
  24. mate — to breed

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