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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 116 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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. clip — a video
  7. club — for golf
  8. firm — a company
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. mate — a friend
  11. wake — a trail
  12. club — a group
  13. clip — to cut
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. firm — steady
  17. mate — a partner
  18. deal — to handle
  19. club — for dancing
  20. wax — to grow
  21. firm — decided
  22. clip — for paper
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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