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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. clip — a video
  3. spring — a coil
  4. clip — for paper
  5. ball — a dance
  6. mate — a friend
  7. bat — the animal
  8. mate — to breed
  9. spring — of water
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. snap — to click
  15. ball — a great time
  16. bulb — for light
  17. clip — to cut
  18. mate — a partner
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. wax — to grow
  23. spring — the season
  24. bulb — for light

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