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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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. object — to protest
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. cold — an illness
  6. cold — not warm
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. perch — the fish
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. root — the cause
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. wax — to grow
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. saw — the tool
  17. object — an aim
  18. mine — for digging
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. saw — the tool
  21. object — a thing
  22. root — of a word
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. root — of a plant

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