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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. scale — in music
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. roll — a list
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. roll — a cake
  8. chest — of your body
  9. clip — for paper
  10. mine — for digging
  11. chest — of your body
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. mug — a face
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. scale — size or range
  18. mug — a cup
  19. mug — to rob
  20. clip — to cut
  21. wax — to grow
  22. rush — hurry
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. chest — a box

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