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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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: rush · leaves · wax · cabinet · clip · degree · last · perch

  1. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. last — finally
  4. wax — to grow
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. clip — to cut
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. degree — temperature
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. perch — the fish
  15. degree — from a university
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. degree — an amount
  19. rush — hurry
  20. clip — a video
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. clip — for paper
  23. last — to go on
  24. last — final

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