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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 124 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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. clip — a video
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. rule — government
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. wax — to grow
  10. clip — for paper
  11. track — a song
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. track — to keep track
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. fork — in a road
  17. wake — a trail
  18. wound — an injury
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. rule — a law
  22. wound — an injury
  23. clip — to cut
  24. wax — for sculpting

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