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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. clip — to cut
  4. face — to confront
  5. can — a tin
  6. face — part of the head
  7. face — to point toward
  8. clip — a video
  9. land — ground
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. craft — a skill
  12. wax — to grow
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. craft — boats
  17. land — a country
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. can — to be able to
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. clip — for paper
  22. land — to come down
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. leaves — to go away

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