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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. court — of law
  3. rule — a law
  4. branch — a division
  5. clip — a video
  6. clip — for paper
  7. rule — government
  8. court — of a king
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. safe — a strongbox
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. wax — to grow
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. stem — to come from
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. pitch — completely
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. court — for sport
  23. clip — to cut
  24. branch — of a tree

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