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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 116 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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. track — a path
  3. track — to keep track
  4. season — of the year
  5. field — a subject
  6. clip — a video
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. field — farmland
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. season — in sport
  11. clip — to cut
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. field — for sport
  15. object — an aim
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. wax — to grow
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. object — to protest
  20. clip — for paper
  21. track — a song
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. trunk — of a tree

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