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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  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. season — of the year
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. can — to be able to
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. season — in sport
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. clip — for paper
  10. can — a tin
  11. clip — a video
  12. wax — to grow
  13. shower — to wash
  14. can — a tin
  15. shower — rain
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. dip — to sink
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. lie — to recline
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. wax — for sculpting
  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