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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. fall — to drop
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. fall — the season
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. wax — to grow
  8. ground — the earth
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. lean — to bend
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. ground — a position
  15. row — a line
  16. clip — a video
  17. fall — to drop
  18. row — to paddle
  19. lean — thin
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. clip — to cut
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. clip — for paper

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