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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 116 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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. file — a document
  3. file — a tool
  4. hand — in cards
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. mate — to breed
  7. file — a line of people
  8. charge — in control
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. hand — help
  11. clip — a video
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. wax — to grow
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. clip — for paper
  16. fall — to drop
  17. fall — to drop
  18. mate — a partner
  19. fall — the season
  20. charge — a price
  21. mate — a friend
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. charge — electricity
  24. branch — a division

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