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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. mug — a cup
  3. object — a thing
  4. capital — money
  5. bark — to shout
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. capital — a city
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. clip — to cut
  13. object — an aim
  14. squash — the sport
  15. wax — to grow
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. mug — a face
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. clip — for paper
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. object — to protest
  22. mug — to rob
  23. clip — a video
  24. squash — to crush

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