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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 120 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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. wax — to grow
  3. clip — a video
  4. capital — a city
  5. capital — money
  6. clip — for paper
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. content — happy
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. content — the amount
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. clip — to cut
  15. rush — hurry
  16. tube — a container
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. tube — the underground
  24. rush — a thrill

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