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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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. clip — to cut
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. march — music
  5. object — to protest
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. row — a line
  9. clip — a video
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. object — an aim
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. object — a thing
  15. march — the month
  16. wax — to grow
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. clip — for paper
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. march — the month
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. rush — hurry
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. row — to paddle

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