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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. mate — a friend
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. board — a committee
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. board — to get on
  12. face — to point toward
  13. cell — a phone
  14. mate — a partner
  15. pound — a weight
  16. cell — in biology
  17. clip — to cut
  18. wax — to grow
  19. mate — to breed
  20. clip — for paper
  21. face — to confront
  22. face — part of the head
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. pound — for dogs

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