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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 120 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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  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. bound — obliged
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. charge — a price
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. bound — certain
  7. wax — to grow
  8. charge — electricity
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. clip — a video
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. bark — to shout
  14. charge — in control
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. prune — to trim
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. clip — to cut
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. bound — tied together
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. prune — to trim
  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