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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. spell — magic
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. row — to paddle
  5. season — of the year
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. spell — a short time
  8. wax — to grow
  9. clip — to cut
  10. content — happy
  11. branch — a division
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. key — the most important part
  14. clip — for paper
  15. content — the amount
  16. row — a line
  17. key — for a lock
  18. key — in music
  19. season — in sport
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. clip — a video
  23. spell — letters
  24. row — a quarrel

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