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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. kid — child
  3. mate — a partner
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. kid — to tease
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. root — of a plant
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. clip — to cut
  10. cue — for pool
  11. clip — for paper
  12. mate — to breed
  13. date — the fruit
  14. root — the cause
  15. root — of a word
  16. cue — a hint
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. pitch — completely
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. wax — to grow
  23. mate — a friend
  24. cue — a signal

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