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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. current — happening now
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. kick — in football
  7. clip — to cut
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. clip — for paper
  10. current — of water
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. rock — a stone
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. lean — thin
  15. tear — to rip
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. lean — to bend
  18. clip — a video
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. tear — from crying
  21. tear — from crying
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. wax — to grow
  24. current — electric

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