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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. present — a gift
  3. snap — to click
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. row — a line
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. present — the time now
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. tear — to rip
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. tear — from crying
  16. row — to paddle
  17. tear — from crying
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. pound — a weight
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. present — there
  22. rush — hurry
  23. wax — to grow
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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