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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

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

  1. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. drill — a practice
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. wax — to grow
  7. band — a music group
  8. drill — the tool
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. drill — army training
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. perch — the fish
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. band — a ring
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. pitcher — in baseball

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