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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 124 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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. file — a tool
  3. craft — a skill
  4. fork — in a road
  5. wax — to grow
  6. drill — army training
  7. drill — the tool
  8. present — a gift
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. present — there
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. land — a country
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. file — a line of people
  15. craft — boats
  16. present — the time now
  17. file — a document
  18. clip — for paper
  19. land — ground
  20. land — to come down
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. clip — to cut
  24. drill — a practice

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