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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 120 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. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. wound — an injury
  4. file — a line of people
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. firm — a company
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. clip — for paper
  9. cell — a phone
  10. cell — in biology
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. file — a tool
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. file — a document
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. wax — to grow
  18. deal — to handle
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. firm — decided
  21. clip — to cut
  22. clip — a video
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. wound — an injury

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