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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 124 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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. root — of a word
  3. bank — for money
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. season — in sport
  6. wax — to grow
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. clip — for paper
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. bank — of a river
  12. rock — a stone
  13. spring — the season
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. root — the cause
  16. clip — to cut
  17. root — of a plant
  18. spring — a coil
  19. spring — of water
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. bank — for money
  23. clip — a video
  24. season — of the year

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