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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. bulb — for light
  3. fine — high quality
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. last — final
  7. wound — an injury
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. clip — for paper
  10. last — to go on
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. last — finally
  13. clip — a video
  14. perch — the fish
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. bulb — for light
  17. clip — to cut
  18. wound — an injury
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. suit — in cards
  21. suit — clothes
  22. wax — to grow
  23. suit — to fit
  24. fine — all right

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