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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. march — music
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. band — a music group
  5. craft — a skill
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. band — a ring
  8. clip — for paper
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. clip — a video
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. march — the month
  13. rest — a break
  14. rest — what's left
  15. craft — boats
  16. clip — to cut
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. wax — to grow
  20. march — the month
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. rest — what's left

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