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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 120 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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. cap — a hat
  3. fork — in a road
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. wax — to grow
  7. clip — for paper
  8. clip — a video
  9. tube — the underground
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. cap — of ice
  14. wind — moving air
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. wind — moving air
  17. current — happening now
  18. current — of water
  19. tube — a container
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. current — electric
  22. mine — for digging
  23. cap — a lid
  24. mine — an explosive

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