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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. last — final
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. swing — in golf
  5. swing — music
  6. last — finally
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. swing — to play on
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. clip — to cut
  11. pop — soda
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. spring — the season
  14. pop — music
  15. spring — a coil
  16. wax — to grow
  17. clip — for paper
  18. pop — to visit
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. pound — a weight
  22. last — to go on
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. spring — of water

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