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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. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. band — a ring
  3. tear — to rip
  4. content — happy
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. clip — a video
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. clip — for paper
  11. content — the amount
  12. fork — in a road
  13. snap — to click
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. clip — to cut
  18. tear — from crying
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. wax — to grow
  21. band — a music group
  22. tear — from crying
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. fork — to eat with

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