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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. track — a path
  5. club — for dancing
  6. track — to keep track
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. pop — music
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. club — for golf
  11. pop — soda
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. row — a line
  15. wax — to grow
  16. wound — an injury
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. wound — an injury
  19. perch — the fish
  20. track — a song
  21. row — to paddle
  22. club — a group
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. pop — to visit

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