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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. clip — to cut
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. clip — for paper
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. snap — to click
  10. ground — the earth
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. ground — crushed
  15. wax — to grow
  16. clip — a video
  17. kick — in football
  18. ground — a position
  19. tube — the underground
  20. pass — a permit
  21. tube — a container
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. bat — the animal
  24. bat — in an idiom

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