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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. perch — the fish
  5. game — a match
  6. bound — tied together
  7. wax — to grow
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. last — final
  11. game — wild animals
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. tube — a container
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. bass — the fish
  16. bass — low music
  17. season — of the year
  18. last — finally
  19. tube — the underground
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. bound — obliged
  22. bound — certain
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. last — to go on

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