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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: row · hide · spell · fall · scale · wax · current · clip

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. clip — a video
  3. row — a line
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. scale — size or range
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. scale — in music
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. clip — to cut
  10. fall — the season
  11. clip — for paper
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. spell — magic
  14. current — happening now
  15. fall — to drop
  16. spell — letters
  17. spell — a short time
  18. current — electric
  19. fall — to drop
  20. wax — to grow
  21. row — to paddle
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. current — of water
  24. scale — for weighing

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