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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. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. clip — for paper
  3. clip — a video
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. chair — a leader
  6. wax — to grow
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. wound — an injury
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. clip — to cut
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. charge — in control
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. wound — an injury
  18. charge — a price
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. charge — electricity
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. bat — the animal
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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