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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. clip — to cut
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. bound — tied together
  7. season — of the year
  8. bound — certain
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. clip — for paper
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. bound — obliged
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. date — the fruit
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. clip — a video
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. perch — the fish
  20. wax — to grow
  21. season — in sport
  22. vault — a safe
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. wax — for sculpting

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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