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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. clip — a video
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. clip — for paper
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. mate — a partner
  7. mate — to breed
  8. staff — a stick
  9. rule — a law
  10. clip — to cut
  11. face — to point toward
  12. capital — money
  13. staff — employees
  14. capital — a city
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. craft — boats
  17. face — part of the head
  18. face — to confront
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. mate — a friend
  21. rule — government
  22. staff — employees
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. craft — a skill

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