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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 120 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 birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. vault — a safe
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. net — for catching
  8. net — in sport
  9. spring — of water
  10. perch — the fish
  11. spring — a coil
  12. spring — the season
  13. clip — for paper
  14. wax — to grow
  15. clip — a video
  16. bark — to shout
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. net — after costs
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. clip — to cut
  24. wax — in the ear

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