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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. face — to confront
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. clip — for paper
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. face — to point toward
  9. swing — in golf
  10. cap — a lid
  11. clip — to cut
  12. wax — to grow
  13. scale — size or range
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. cap — of ice
  16. face — part of the head
  17. clip — a video
  18. tube — a container
  19. scale — in music
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. swing — music
  22. tube — the underground
  23. swing — to play on
  24. arm — part of the body

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