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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. content — the amount
  3. wax — to grow
  4. face — part of the head
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. mate — a friend
  7. bore — to drill
  8. tube — the underground
  9. mate — to breed
  10. face — to point toward
  11. stock — shares
  12. tube — a container
  13. stock — goods
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. clip — for paper
  16. mate — a partner
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. bore — to tire
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. content — happy
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. clip — to cut
  24. face — to confront

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