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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  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. band — a rubber band
  2. mug — to rob
  3. mug — a face
  4. face — part of the head
  5. game — wild animals
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. wax — to grow
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. kid — child
  10. chair — a leader
  11. band — a music group
  12. perch — the fish
  13. band — a ring
  14. face — to confront
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. mug — a cup
  17. kid — to tease
  18. game — a match
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. face — to point toward
  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