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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. cap — of ice
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. key — in music
  5. kid — child
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. key — the most important part
  8. object — an aim
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. cap — a lid
  11. race — humankind
  12. object — a thing
  13. cap — a hat
  14. key — for a lock
  15. object — to protest
  16. race — the arms race
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. clip — for paper
  19. kid — to tease
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. wax — to grow
  22. clip — a video
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. race — a contest

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