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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 birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. game — wild animals
  3. game — a match
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. charge — in control
  6. charge — a price
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. perch — the fish
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. content — happy
  12. content — the amount
  13. charge — electricity
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. wax — to grow
  18. leaves — lets stay

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