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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 120 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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. wind — moving air
  3. rule — a law
  4. row — to paddle
  5. clip — a video
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. clip — for paper
  9. clip — to cut
  10. tube — the underground
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wax — to grow
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. rule — government
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. dip — to sink
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. row — a line
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. tube — a container
  24. season — in sport

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