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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. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. wax — to grow
  3. prune — to trim
  4. wind — moving air
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. clip — a video
  8. prune — to trim
  9. clip — for paper
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. hand — in cards
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. hand — help
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. clip — to cut
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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