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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's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. present — the time now
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. dip — to sink
  5. tube — a container
  6. present — a gift
  7. clip — to cut
  8. mine — for digging
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. present — there
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. clip — for paper
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. tube — the underground
  20. wax — to grow
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. clip — a video
  24. wound — an injury

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