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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. clip — to cut
  3. content — happy
  4. cell — a phone
  5. craft — a skill
  6. content — the amount
  7. clip — for paper
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. clip — a video
  12. ground — crushed
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. ground — the earth
  15. cell — in biology
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. wax — to grow
  20. ground — a position
  21. vault — a safe
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. craft — boats
  24. wax — in the ear

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