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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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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. cap — a lid
  4. cap — of ice
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wind — moving air
  9. lean — thin
  10. wax — to grow
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. snap — to click
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. lean — to bend
  20. dip — to sink
  21. cap — a hat
  22. rash — hasty
  23. rash — a series
  24. perch — for a bird

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