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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. clip — to cut
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. kick — in football
  8. kid — child
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. clip — for paper
  11. wax — to grow
  12. mate — to breed
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. kid — to tease
  16. clip — a video
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. mate — a friend
  19. wind — moving air
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. wind — moving air
  23. mate — a partner
  24. ruler — a monarch

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