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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. wax — to grow
  3. march — the month
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. perch — the fish
  6. net — for catching
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. net — in sport
  9. march — music
  10. scale — in music
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. scale — size or range
  13. rest — a break
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. season — of the year
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. bark — to shout
  20. march — the month
  21. rest — what's left
  22. season — in sport
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. rest — what's left

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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