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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 116 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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. wax — to grow
  3. march — the month
  4. march — the month
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. game — a match
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. perch — the fish
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. march — music
  18. game — a kind of play

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