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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 drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. shower — rain
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. land — to come down
  13. perch — the fish
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. bass — low music
  16. wax — to grow
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. land — ground
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. shower — to wash
  21. land — a country
  22. bass — the fish
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. coach — a trainer

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