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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. kid — to tease
  3. clip — a video
  4. tear — from crying
  5. mug — to rob
  6. mug — a cup
  7. pitch — completely
  8. tear — from crying
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. clip — to cut
  12. kick — in football
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. wax — to grow
  17. mug — a face
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. clip — for paper
  20. date — the fruit
  21. tear — to rip
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. kid — child

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