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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. ground — crushed
  5. craft — a skill
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. wax — to grow
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. chest — of your body
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. chest — a box
  14. ground — a position
  15. ground — the earth
  16. clip — to cut
  17. chest — of your body
  18. content — happy
  19. content — the amount
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. craft — boats
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. clip — for paper
  24. lash — to lash out

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