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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 was locked up in a ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. clip — a video
  3. cap — a hat
  4. ball — a dance
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. ball — a great time
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. court — for sport
  9. clip — to cut
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. clip — for paper
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. court — of law
  14. cell — in biology
  15. court — of a king
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. cap — of ice
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. cap — a lid
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. wax — to grow
  23. cell — a phone
  24. ball — a round shape

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