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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. When will it ________________ you to start?
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. season — of the year
  3. tear — to rip
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. clip — for paper
  6. suit — clothes
  7. suit — to fit
  8. clip — a video
  9. season — in sport
  10. band — a ring
  11. degree — temperature
  12. wax — to grow
  13. degree — from a university
  14. tear — from crying
  15. tear — from crying
  16. suit — in cards
  17. band — a music group
  18. fall — the season
  19. fall — to drop
  20. clip — to cut
  21. fall — to drop
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. degree — an amount

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