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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. vault — a safe
  4. lie — to recline
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. mate — to breed
  7. capital — a city
  8. clip — a video
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. clip — for paper
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. capital — money
  13. mate — a friend
  14. mate — a partner
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. wax — to grow
  17. tube — a container
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. tube — the underground

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