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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. track — to keep track
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. spell — a short time
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. mine — for digging
  8. wax — to grow
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. track — a song
  16. track — a path
  17. spell — letters
  18. lean — thin
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. perch — the fish
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. spell — magic
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. fan — a supporter

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