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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. clip — for paper
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. wax — to grow
  6. current — happening now
  7. land — ground
  8. capital — money
  9. clip — to cut
  10. suit — in cards
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. court — of law
  13. kick — in football
  14. capital — a city
  15. suit — to fit
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. court — for sport
  18. suit — clothes
  19. court — of a king
  20. current — of water
  21. land — a country
  22. current — electric
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. land — to come down

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