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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 ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. perch — the fish
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. swing — in golf
  8. net — in sport
  9. swing — music
  10. lean — to bend
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. last — final
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. net — for catching
  15. wind — moving air
  16. lean — thin
  17. last — finally
  18. wax — to grow
  19. swing — to play on
  20. wind — moving air
  21. last — to go on
  22. net — after costs
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. lean — to rest against

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