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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. object — to protest
  3. clip — a video
  4. cap — a lid
  5. clip — to cut
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. cap — a hat
  10. wound — an injury
  11. cap — of ice
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. branch — a division
  15. object — an aim
  16. object — a thing
  17. game — wild animals
  18. wound — an injury
  19. clip — for paper
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. fork — in a road
  23. wax — to grow
  24. wax — for sculpting

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