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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. clip — for paper
  5. swing — music
  6. clip — a video
  7. craft — a skill
  8. clip — to cut
  9. season — in sport
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. row — to paddle
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. swing — in golf
  16. swing — to play on
  17. ball — a dance
  18. wax — to grow
  19. row — a line
  20. ball — a great time
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. craft — boats
  24. season — of the year

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