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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. clip — to cut
  3. spring — of water
  4. clip — for paper
  5. clip — a video
  6. tube — the underground
  7. rock — music
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. charge — in control
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. charge — a price
  12. tube — a container
  13. fall — to drop
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. spring — the season
  16. fall — the season
  17. rock — a stone
  18. charge — electricity
  19. spring — a coil
  20. fall — to drop
  21. fork — in a road
  22. wax — to grow
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. fork — a garden tool

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