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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 owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. kid — to tease
  3. kid — child
  4. fine — high quality
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. game — wild animals
  13. perch — the fish
  14. game — a match
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. wax — to grow
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. fine — all right
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. dip — to sink
  24. wake — a trail

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