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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 116 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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. kid — to tease
  3. lean — to bend
  4. clip — to cut
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. clip — for paper
  7. bass — low music
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. track — a path
  11. current — happening now
  12. current — of water
  13. track — to keep track
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. clip — a video
  16. current — electric
  17. pitch — completely
  18. bass — the fish
  19. lean — thin
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. track — a song
  23. wax — to grow
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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