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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. clip — to cut
  3. band — a music group
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. fall — to drop
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. ground — a position
  8. wax — to grow
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. ground — crushed
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. clip — for paper
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. fall — the season
  17. fall — to drop
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. court — of law
  20. court — of a king
  21. pass — a permit
  22. court — for sport
  23. ground — the earth
  24. band — a ring

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