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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. wax — to grow
  3. season — in sport
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. last — final
  6. rush — hurry
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. last — to go on
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. season — of the year
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. last — finally
  17. clip — for paper
  18. clip — a video
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. saw — the tool
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. saw — the tool
  24. wax — in the ear

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