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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. pop — soda
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. rock — a stone
  8. clip — a video
  9. season — in sport
  10. wax — to grow
  11. pop — music
  12. saw — the tool
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. saw — the tool
  15. root — the cause
  16. pop — to visit
  17. clip — for paper
  18. clip — to cut
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. root — of a plant
  21. rock — music
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. root — of a word
  24. rock — to move gently

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