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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. present — a gift
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. clip — to cut
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. bass — low music
  10. ball — a dance
  11. clip — for paper
  12. clip — a video
  13. wax — to grow
  14. bass — the fish
  15. lie — to recline
  16. present — there
  17. swing — to play on
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. swing — in golf
  20. swing — music
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. present — the time now
  24. ball — a great time

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