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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. rule — government
  3. clip — a video
  4. swing — to play on
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. sharp — clever
  7. can — a tin
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. can — to be able to
  11. staff — employees
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. pound — a weight
  14. wax — to grow
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. staff — employees
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. swing — music
  20. can — a tin
  21. rule — a law
  22. clip — for paper
  23. clip — to cut
  24. swing — in golf

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