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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. wax — to grow
  3. last — final
  4. suit — to fit
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. mug — a cup
  8. ball — a great time
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. clip — a video
  11. suit — clothes
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. perch — the fish
  15. stand — to bear
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. suit — in cards
  18. clip — to cut
  19. last — finally
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. mug — a face
  22. clip — for paper
  23. last — to go on
  24. mug — to rob

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