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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 120 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'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  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. land — ground
  2. clip — to cut
  3. clip — for paper
  4. bear — the animal
  5. capital — money
  6. bound — certain
  7. bound — obliged
  8. wax — to grow
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. lean — thin
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. capital — a city
  14. mug — a face
  15. land — a country
  16. land — to come down
  17. mug — a cup
  18. mug — to rob
  19. bound — tied together
  20. bear — the animal
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. lean — to bend
  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