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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. clip — to cut
  3. mug — a face
  4. clip — for paper
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. clip — a video
  9. court — for sport
  10. hand — help
  11. wake — a trail
  12. face — part of the head
  13. hand — in cards
  14. present — the time now
  15. face — to point toward
  16. face — to confront
  17. court — of law
  18. mug — to rob
  19. present — there
  20. court — of a king
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. wax — to grow
  23. present — a gift
  24. mug — a cup

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