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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. rush — hurry
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. craft — boats
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. clip — a video
  9. bat — the animal
  10. content — the amount
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. prune — to trim
  13. wax — to grow
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. craft — a skill
  17. pit — a hole
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. clip — for paper
  20. prune — to trim
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. pit — in a race
  24. content — happy

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