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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. wax — to grow
  3. scale — in music
  4. press — to push
  5. scale — size or range
  6. perch — the fish
  7. spring — the season
  8. press — a publisher
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. bat — the animal
  12. spring — a coil
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. spring — of water
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. foot — a measure
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. press — newspapers
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. cabinet — ministers

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