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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. clip — to cut
  3. wax — to grow
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. clip — for paper
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. mate — a friend
  9. net — for catching
  10. net — after costs
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. net — in sport
  13. mate — a partner
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. foot — a measure
  16. clip — a video
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. leaves — to go away

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