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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. staff — employees
  3. clip — for paper
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. staff — a stick
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. kid — child
  9. clip — a video
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. last — finally
  13. kick — in football
  14. clip — to cut
  15. fork — in a road
  16. last — to go on
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. staff — employees
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. last — final
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. wax — to grow
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. wax — in the ear

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