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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. spell — magic
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. spell — letters
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. wax — to grow
  13. spell — a short time
  14. perch — the fish
  15. branch — a division
  16. cell — in biology
  17. fall — the season
  18. fall — to drop
  19. cell — a phone
  20. chair — a leader
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. fall — to drop
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. calf — of the leg

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