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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. present — there
  3. present — the time now
  4. wax — to grow
  5. clip — a video
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. bark — to shout
  9. clip — to cut
  10. branch — a division
  11. spell — magic
  12. spell — a short time
  13. tube — the underground
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. clip — for paper
  20. mine — for digging
  21. present — a gift
  22. spell — letters
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. mine — belonging to me

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