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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 seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. object — an aim
  3. pop — music
  4. pop — soda
  5. swing — to play on
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. kid — to tease
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. kid — child
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. swing — in golf
  14. toast — bread
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. object — a thing
  18. pop — to visit
  19. wax — to grow
  20. swing — music
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. object — to protest
  23. clip — a video
  24. clip — for paper

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