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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. When will it ________________ you to start?
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. land — a country
  3. suit — clothes
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. rush — hurry
  7. wound — an injury
  8. hand — in cards
  9. wax — to grow
  10. spell — a short time
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. wound — an injury
  14. suit — in cards
  15. clip — for paper
  16. land — to come down
  17. spell — letters
  18. clip — to cut
  19. land — ground
  20. suit — to fit
  21. clip — a video
  22. spell — magic
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. hand — help

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