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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 124 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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. clip — a video
  3. mine — for digging
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. swing — to play on
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. pit — in a race
  11. deal — to handle
  12. clip — to cut
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. pit — a hole
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. swing — music
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. roll — a list
  20. swing — in golf
  21. roll — a cake
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. wake — a trail
  24. wax — to grow

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