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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. chest — of your body
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. wax — to grow
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. capital — a city
  8. chest — a box
  9. bore — to tire
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. dip — to sink
  12. bound — certain
  13. bound — tied together
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. bound — obliged
  18. bore — to drill
  19. capital — money
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. clip — for paper
  23. clip — to cut
  24. chest — of your 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