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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. clip — to cut
  5. pit — in a race
  6. wax — to grow
  7. race — the arms race
  8. spell — magic
  9. pop — to visit
  10. spell — a short time
  11. plane — a tool
  12. clip — a video
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. race — a contest
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. pit — a hole
  17. pop — soda
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. race — humankind
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. clip — for paper
  23. pop — music
  24. plane — in geometry

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