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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 120 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. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  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. stand — for spectators
  2. land — a country
  3. rash — hasty
  4. land — ground
  5. season — in sport
  6. scale — in music
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. season — of the year
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. stand — to bear
  11. wax — to grow
  12. scale — size or range
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. row — a line
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. clip — to cut
  19. rash — a series
  20. row — to paddle
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. clip — for paper
  23. land — to come down
  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