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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. cell — a phone
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. wind — moving air
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. last — to go on
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. perch — the fish
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. cell — in biology
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. stand — to bear
  21. wax — to grow
  22. last — finally
  23. wind — moving air
  24. last — final

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