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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. clip — a video
  3. rule — government
  4. bark — to shout
  5. clip — for paper
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. bass — low music
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. wax — to grow
  12. bass — the fish
  13. content — happy
  14. rule — a law
  15. content — the amount
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. foot — a measure
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. arm — part of the body

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