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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. band — a music group
  3. bat — the animal
  4. last — to go on
  5. bark — to shout
  6. clip — to cut
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. bank — of a river
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. wax — to grow
  12. lean — to bend
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. last — final
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. bank — for money
  17. bank — for money
  18. band — a ring
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. last — finally
  23. lean — thin
  24. clip — for paper

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