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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 116 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. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. content — the amount
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. shower — to wash
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. prune — to trim
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. can — to be able to
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. clip — to cut
  12. can — a tin
  13. wax — to grow
  14. can — a tin
  15. shower — rain
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. season — of the year
  19. prune — to trim
  20. season — in sport
  21. clip — for paper
  22. content — happy
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. clip — a video

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