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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. pop — soda
  3. pop — to visit
  4. object — to protest
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wind — moving air
  7. pop — music
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. face — part of the head
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. face — to point toward
  12. clip — a video
  13. wax — to grow
  14. clip — for paper
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. face — to confront
  18. clip — to cut
  19. object — an aim
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. ball — a great time
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. ball — a dance
  24. object — a thing

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