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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. season — in sport
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. swing — to play on
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. wax — to grow
  9. season — of the year
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. squash — to crush
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. swing — in golf
  15. ball — a great time
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. ball — a dance
  20. swing — music
  21. content — happy
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. content — the amount
  24. squash — the sport

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