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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: clip · wax · pound · row · ball · cabinet · content · spell

  1. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. row — to paddle
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. content — happy
  6. clip — a video
  7. spell — a short time
  8. ball — a dance
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. ball — a great time
  12. clip — for paper
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. spell — magic
  16. spell — letters
  17. wax — to grow
  18. content — the amount
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. pound — a weight
  21. clip — to cut
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. row — a line
  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