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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. wax — to grow
  5. bound — certain
  6. bound — tied together
  7. spell — a short time
  8. spell — letters
  9. current — happening now
  10. clip — for paper
  11. current — of water
  12. spell — magic
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. current — electric
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. clip — to cut
  19. band — a ring
  20. band — a music group
  21. content — the amount
  22. bound — obliged
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. content — happy

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