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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 116 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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. rest — what's left
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. march — music
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. rest — what's left
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. perch — the fish
  11. saw — the tool
  12. march — the month
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. root — of a plant
  15. wax — to grow
  16. cold — not warm
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. root — of a word
  19. root — the cause
  20. cold — an illness
  21. saw — the tool
  22. rest — a break
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. march — the month

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