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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. rush — hurry
  5. bulb — for light
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. clip — a video
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. fall — to drop
  10. mark — a trace
  11. wax — to grow
  12. fall — the season
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. sharp — clever
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. kid — to tease
  18. bulb — for light
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. mark — a grade
  21. kid — child
  22. clip — for paper
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. fall — to drop

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