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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. swing — music
  3. net — for catching
  4. plane — a tool
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. swing — in golf
  7. clip — for paper
  8. season — of the year
  9. pop — music
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. clip — to cut
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. swing — to play on
  15. clip — a video
  16. net — in sport
  17. season — in sport
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. wax — to grow
  20. pop — to visit
  21. pop — soda
  22. dip — to sink
  23. net — after costs
  24. season — to add flavour

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