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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. chest — of your body
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. dip — to sink
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. march — music
  14. wax — to grow
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. clip — to cut
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. march — the month
  20. chest — of your body
  21. march — the month
  22. clip — for paper
  23. chest — a box
  24. nail — for a hammer

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