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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 124 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. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. clip — for paper
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. bat — the animal
  7. wax — to grow
  8. wind — moving air
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. perch — the fish
  12. tube — the underground
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. clip — a video
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. clip — to cut
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. stand — to bear
  20. tube — a container
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. wind — moving air

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