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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. key — in music
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. snap — to click
  5. last — finally
  6. wax — to grow
  7. last — to go on
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. key — the most important part
  10. clip — a video
  11. clip — for paper
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. club — for golf
  15. club — for dancing
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. key — for a lock
  21. last — final
  22. chair — a leader
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. club — a group

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