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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. clip — a video
  3. foot — a measure
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. wax — to grow
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. clip — to cut
  10. chip — for betting
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. band — a music group
  14. band — a ring
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. wake — a trail
  18. hand — help
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. chip — to eat
  23. clip — for paper
  24. hand — in cards

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