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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  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. object — an aim
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. clip — a video
  4. net — after costs
  5. net — in sport
  6. clip — to cut
  7. object — to protest
  8. file — a tool
  9. object — a thing
  10. staff — employees
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. staff — employees
  13. wax — to grow
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. net — for catching
  16. squash — the sport
  17. file — a line of people
  18. clip — for paper
  19. file — a document
  20. fall — the season
  21. staff — a stick
  22. fall — to drop
  23. squash — to crush
  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