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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 ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. rush — hurry
  3. clip — a video
  4. file — a tool
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. wax — to grow
  10. clip — to cut
  11. file — a line of people
  12. prune — to trim
  13. tube — a container
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. prune — to trim
  16. pass — a permit
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. tube — the underground
  19. file — a document
  20. wound — an injury
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. clip — for paper

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