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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. bear — the animal
  3. land — ground
  4. staff — employees
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. land — to come down
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. wax — to grow
  11. file — a tool
  12. staff — a stick
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. bear — the animal
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. mine — for digging
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. land — a country
  20. perch — the fish
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. file — a line of people
  23. staff — employees
  24. file — a document

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