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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. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. clip — for paper
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. wax — to grow
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. content — happy
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. bat — the animal
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. clip — to cut
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. content — the amount
  24. nail — for a hammer

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