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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. chest — a box
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. scale — in music
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. scale — size or range
  11. ground — crushed
  12. season — in sport
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. season — of the year
  15. ground — a position
  16. chest — of your body
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. perch — the fish
  19. chest — of your body
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. wax — to grow
  22. rush — hurry
  23. stem — to come from
  24. ground — the earth

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