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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. spell — a short time
  3. spell — letters
  4. clip — a video
  5. clip — for paper
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. branch — a division
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. face — to point toward
  10. land — to come down
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. cap — a lid
  13. cap — of ice
  14. clip — to cut
  15. face — to confront
  16. foot — a measure
  17. land — a country
  18. spell — magic
  19. wax — to grow
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. cap — a hat
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. land — ground
  24. wax — in the ear

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