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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. game — a match
  3. wax — to grow
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. net — in sport
  7. prune — to trim
  8. net — after costs
  9. clip — for paper
  10. game — wild animals
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. bat — the animal
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. can — to be able to
  15. can — a tin
  16. can — a tin
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. clip — to cut
  19. net — for catching
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. prune — to trim
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. bat — for baseball

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