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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. rash — a series
  4. season — in sport
  5. season — of the year
  6. wind — moving air
  7. current — happening now
  8. current — electric
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. rash — hasty
  11. current — of water
  12. rest — what's left
  13. wind — moving air
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. rest — what's left
  17. rest — a break
  18. wax — to grow
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. squash — to crush
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. squash — the sport

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