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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 120 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: court · bay · perch · season · stem · cap · clip · wax

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. clip — a video
  4. court — of a king
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. season — in sport
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. cap — a lid
  11. stem — to come from
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. perch — the fish
  15. clip — to cut
  16. court — for sport
  17. cap — of ice
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. court — of law
  20. clip — for paper
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. cap — a hat
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  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