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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 116 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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. track — a path
  4. track — a song
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. track — to keep track
  7. clip — for paper
  8. staff — a stick
  9. staff — employees
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. pit — a hole
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. clip — a video
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. wax — to grow
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. rush — hurry
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. staff — employees
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. pit — in a race

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