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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. chest — of your body
  4. season — in sport
  5. chest — of your body
  6. chest — a box
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. ground — the earth
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. game — wild animals
  11. saw — the tool
  12. game — a match
  13. ground — crushed
  14. saw — the tool
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. ground — a position
  18. wax — to grow

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