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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 asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. game — wild animals
  3. clip — a video
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. scale — size or range
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. spell — letters
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. clip — to cut
  12. kick — in football
  13. deal — to handle
  14. clip — for paper
  15. pit — in a race
  16. wax — to grow
  17. spell — a short time
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. scale — in music
  22. pit — a hole
  23. game — a match
  24. kick — with a leg

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