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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bowl · lean · wax · clip · tear · game · mark · racket

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. lean — thin
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. clip — a video
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. clip — to cut
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. tear — to rip
  9. tear — from crying
  10. mark — a trace
  11. mark — a grade
  12. game — wild animals
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. lean — to bend
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. wax — to grow
  20. tear — from crying
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. game — a match
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. mark — to pay attention

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