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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. clip — a video
  3. court — for sport
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. charge — in control
  8. clip — to cut
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. tube — a container
  11. prune — to trim
  12. charge — electricity
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. present — the time now
  15. charge — a price
  16. court — of a king
  17. tube — the underground
  18. clip — for paper
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. present — there
  22. present — a gift
  23. court — of law
  24. wax — to grow

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