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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. fine — high quality
  4. wax — to grow
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. face — part of the head
  7. clip — a video
  8. shower — to wash
  9. march — the month
  10. face — to confront
  11. clip — to cut
  12. branch — a division
  13. shower — rain
  14. fine — all right
  15. march — the month
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. march — music
  22. face — to point toward
  23. clip — for paper
  24. branch — of a tree

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