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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. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — part of the body
  2. track — a path
  3. kid — child
  4. spell — a short time
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. spell — magic
  7. track — to keep track
  8. foot — a measure
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. safe — a strongbox
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. clip — a video
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. clip — for paper
  15. spell — letters
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. clip — to cut
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. kid — to tease
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. track — a song
  22. wax — to grow
  23. pitch — completely
  24. safe — out of danger

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