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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 birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. capital — money
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. wax — to grow
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. kid — child
  11. kid — to tease
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. perch — the fish
  14. saw — the tool
  15. capital — a city
  16. fork — in a road
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. vault — a safe
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. saw — the tool
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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