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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 116 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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. track — to keep track
  3. clip — a video
  4. track — a path
  5. clip — for paper
  6. chair — a leader
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. track — a song
  11. clip — to cut
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. net — for catching
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. season — of the year
  16. wax — to grow
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. tube — a container
  19. tube — the underground
  20. can — a tin
  21. can — a tin
  22. net — in sport
  23. net — after costs
  24. can — to be able to

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