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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: perch · saw · season · nail · kick · trunk · last · wax

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. last — finally
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. season — in sport
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. perch — the fish
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. saw — the tool
  15. last — final
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. wax — to grow
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. kick — in football
  20. last — to go on
  21. season — of the year
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. saw — the tool
  24. trunk — of a car

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