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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. land — ground
  4. clip — for paper
  5. land — a country
  6. cue — for pool
  7. fine — all right
  8. rest — what's left
  9. wax — to grow
  10. rash — a series
  11. rest — a break
  12. tear — from crying
  13. cue — a signal
  14. tear — from crying
  15. clip — a video
  16. clip — to cut
  17. fine — high quality
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. cue — a hint
  21. tear — to rip
  22. rest — what's left
  23. rash — hasty
  24. land — to come down

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