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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. chest — a box
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. clip — a video
  6. pop — music
  7. clip — for paper
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. chip — for betting
  10. pop — soda
  11. clip — to cut
  12. sharp — clever
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. chest — of your body
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. chip — to eat
  17. wax — to grow
  18. mine — for digging
  19. chest — of your body
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. racket — for tennis

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