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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. clip — a video
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. ground — a position
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. ground — crushed
  7. charge — a price
  8. land — to come down
  9. saw — the tool
  10. land — a country
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. clip — to cut
  13. charge — in control
  14. wax — to grow
  15. spell — letters
  16. clip — for paper
  17. ground — the earth
  18. spell — a short time
  19. rash — hasty
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. saw — the tool
  22. rash — a series
  23. charge — electricity
  24. land — ground

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