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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. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. track — a song
  4. track — to keep track
  5. fine — all right
  6. clip — a video
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. tear — from crying
  9. tear — from crying
  10. land — ground
  11. track — a path
  12. fine — high quality
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. wax — to grow
  15. land — a country
  16. land — to come down
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. rest — what's left
  20. rest — what's left
  21. clip — to cut
  22. clip — for paper
  23. rest — a break
  24. tear — to rip

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