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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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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: bark · wax · perch · wind · mouse · season · clip · present

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. clip — for paper
  5. perch — the fish
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. clip — to cut
  9. wax — to grow
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. wind — moving air
  12. season — in sport
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. present — there
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. present — a gift
  20. present — the time now
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. clip — a video
  23. wind — moving air
  24. season — of the year

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