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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. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. chest — of your body
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. chest — of your body
  5. wax — to grow
  6. lie — to recline
  7. clip — for paper
  8. chip — to eat
  9. current — electric
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. current — happening now
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. current — of water
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. chest — a box
  16. band — a music group
  17. mark — a grade
  18. clip — to cut
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. band — a ring
  21. clip — a video
  22. mark — a trace
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. chip — for betting

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