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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 124 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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. clip — a video
  3. current — of water
  4. mark — a trace
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. kick — in football
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bear — the animal
  16. bear — the animal
  17. bat — the animal
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. clip — to cut
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. current — happening now
  22. wax — to grow
  23. mark — a grade
  24. current — electric

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