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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: cell · racket · wax · pound · land · season · row · clip

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. row — to paddle
  4. clip — a video
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. season — in sport
  7. land — a country
  8. season — of the year
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. clip — to cut
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. pound — a weight
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. cell — a phone
  18. land — ground
  19. row — a line
  20. cell — in biology
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. clip — for paper
  23. land — to come down
  24. season — to add flavour

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