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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. row — a line
  3. clip — for paper
  4. clip — to cut
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. clip — a video
  8. mine — for digging
  9. bound — tied together
  10. row — to paddle
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. bound — obliged
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. bound — certain
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. mark — a trace
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. fork — in a road
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. mark — a grade

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