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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. fall — the season
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. pop — music
  5. lean — to bend
  6. pop — soda
  7. clip — for paper
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. wax — to grow
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. cap — of ice
  13. ground — crushed
  14. lean — thin
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. ground — a position
  17. fall — to drop
  18. cap — a lid
  19. fall — to drop
  20. clip — to cut
  21. pop — to visit
  22. cap — a hat
  23. ground — the earth
  24. ruler — for measuring

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