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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. clip — a video
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. wax — to grow
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. clip — to cut
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. deal — to handle
  11. spell — magic
  12. band — a music group
  13. clip — for paper
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. band — a ring
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. kick — in football
  19. spell — letters
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. spell — a short time

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