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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. game — a match
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. wind — moving air
  5. clip — to cut
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. wax — to grow
  9. fork — in a road
  10. clip — a video
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. lean — to bend
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. wind — moving air
  17. craft — a skill
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. game — wild animals
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. clip — for paper
  23. craft — boats
  24. wind — to turn a key

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