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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. bass — low music
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. wax — to grow
  6. clip — a video
  7. row — a line
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. clip — to cut
  13. content — happy
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. perch — the fish
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. bass — the fish
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. row — to paddle
  21. clip — for paper
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. content — the amount

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