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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. clip — a video
  3. clip — to cut
  4. hand — in cards
  5. spell — magic
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. shower — to wash
  8. pop — to visit
  9. spell — letters
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. cap — a hat
  12. object — an aim
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. object — a thing
  15. pop — soda
  16. clip — for paper
  17. hand — help
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. cap — of ice
  20. wax — to grow
  21. spell — a short time
  22. object — to protest
  23. cap — a lid
  24. pop — music

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