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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. lean — thin
  3. charge — electricity
  4. clip — to cut
  5. clip — for paper
  6. track — a path
  7. tear — from crying
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. charge — a price
  10. ground — a position
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. tear — from crying
  13. root — the cause
  14. root — of a plant
  15. tear — to rip
  16. ground — the earth
  17. track — to keep track
  18. lean — to bend
  19. ground — crushed
  20. root — of a word
  21. charge — in control
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. track — a song
  24. clip — a video

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