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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. wax — to grow
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. stand — to bear
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. file — a tool
  9. file — a line of people
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. face — to point toward
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. face — to confront
  15. cell — in biology
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. clip — to cut
  18. cell — a phone
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. face — part of the head
  21. file — a document
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. clip — a video
  24. jam — in traffic

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