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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. cue — a signal
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. cue — for pool
  5. clip — for paper
  6. band — a ring
  7. fall — the season
  8. fall — to drop
  9. band — a music group
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. face — to point toward
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. fall — to drop
  15. face — part of the head
  16. clip — to cut
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. clip — a video
  19. cue — a hint
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. wax — to grow
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. face — to confront
  24. bay — a horse colour

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