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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. wax — to grow
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. clip — for paper
  8. snap — to click
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. degree — an amount
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. clip — to cut
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. wake — a trail
  15. degree — from a university
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. file — a tool
  19. degree — temperature
  20. file — a line of people
  21. clip — a video
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. wax — for sculpting

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