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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. track — to keep track
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. root — the cause
  6. wax — to grow
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. root — of a plant
  9. track — a song
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. shower — to wash
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. shower — rain
  16. game — wild animals
  17. mine — for digging
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. track — a path
  22. root — of a word
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. game — a match

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