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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. season — in sport
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. clip — for paper
  9. cue — a signal
  10. cue — a hint
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. clip — a video
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. wax — to grow
  16. cue — for pool
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. season — of the year
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. dip — to sink
  24. clip — to cut

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