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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. season — of the year
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. craft — boats
  8. shower — to wash
  9. clip — a video
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. wax — to grow
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. craft — a skill
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. band — a ring
  17. band — a music group
  18. clip — to cut
  19. season — in sport
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. shower — rain
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. clip — for paper

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