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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. swing — to play on
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. clip — a video
  7. current — of water
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. current — electric
  11. plane — a tool
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wound — an injury
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. stem — to come from
  17. current — happening now
  18. wax — to grow
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. swing — in golf
  21. clip — to cut
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. swing — music

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