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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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. clip — to cut
  3. clip — for paper
  4. clip — a video
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. charge — a price
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. scale — size or range
  9. race — humankind
  10. march — the month
  11. wax — to grow
  12. march — the month
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. charge — electricity
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. wake — a trail
  19. band — a ring
  20. race — a contest
  21. charge — in control
  22. band — a music group
  23. race — the arms race
  24. march — music

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