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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. wax — to grow
  3. season — of the year
  4. bear — the animal
  5. clip — to cut
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. clip — a video
  10. mate — a partner
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. bear — the animal
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. prune — to trim
  16. lean — thin
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. branch — a division
  19. lean — to bend
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. clip — for paper
  22. season — in sport
  23. prune — to trim
  24. mate — a friend

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