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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 had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. clip — a video
  3. clip — to cut
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. stock — shares
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. field — for sport
  9. stock — goods
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. clip — for paper
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. wax — to grow
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. charge — a price
  18. dip — to sink
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. charge — electricity
  21. field — a subject
  22. perch — the fish
  23. field — farmland
  24. charge — in control

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