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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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. mine — for digging
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. season — in sport
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. pound — a weight
  9. clip — for paper
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. bass — the fish
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. wax — to grow
  15. file — a line of people
  16. clip — a video
  17. file — a tool
  18. season — of the year
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. file — a document
  21. bass — low music
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. clip — to cut

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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