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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. tear — from crying
  3. clip — a video
  4. net — for catching
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. clip — for paper
  8. band — a ring
  9. wax — to grow
  10. fall — the season
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. face — to point toward
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. face — part of the head
  15. net — in sport
  16. fall — to drop
  17. face — to confront
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tear — to rip
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. clip — to cut
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. fall — to drop
  24. net — after costs

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