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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. craft — boats
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. wax — to grow
  6. bass — the fish
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. season — of the year
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. season — in sport
  15. scale — in music
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. scale — size or range
  18. bass — low music
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. perch — the fish
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. craft — a skill
  23. pound — a weight
  24. bat — the animal

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