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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 120 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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  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. key — for a lock
  2. band — a music group
  3. clip — to cut
  4. prune — to trim
  5. band — a ring
  6. wax — to grow
  7. current — happening now
  8. clip — a video
  9. key — in music
  10. foot — a measure
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. current — electric
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. key — the most important part
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. prune — to trim
  18. clip — for paper
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. hand — in cards
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. current — of water
  23. prune — the fruit
  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