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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 116 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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. file — a document
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. rash — a series
  12. wax — to grow
  13. file — a tool
  14. season — of the year
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. deal — to handle
  19. perch — the fish
  20. rash — hasty
  21. pound — a weight
  22. file — a line of people
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. deal — an agreement

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