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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. field — farmland
  3. clip — a video
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. clip — to cut
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. last — to go on
  10. last — finally
  11. rule — a law
  12. net — for catching
  13. rule — government
  14. last — final
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. net — after costs
  18. net — in sport
  19. wax — to grow
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. clip — for paper
  22. field — for sport
  23. field — a subject
  24. pitcher — a jug

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