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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. club — a group
  3. club — for dancing
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. present — a gift
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. date — the fruit
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. clip — for paper
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. club — for golf
  15. present — the time now
  16. wax — to grow
  17. present — there
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. wake — a trail
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. clip — to cut

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