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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. mark — a grade
  3. prune — to trim
  4. spell — magic
  5. wax — to grow
  6. sharp — clever
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. ball — a great time
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. spell — a short time
  11. mark — a trace
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. ball — a dance
  14. clip — for paper
  15. clip — to cut
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. prune — to trim
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. spell — letters
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. clip — a video

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