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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. suit — to fit
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. ball — a great time
  5. clip — to cut
  6. suit — clothes
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. wax — to grow
  10. clip — for paper
  11. scale — in music
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. content — the amount
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. scale — size or range
  17. ball — a dance
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. pop — soda
  20. suit — in cards
  21. content — happy
  22. pop — to visit
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. clip — a video

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