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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 owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. net — after costs
  3. perch — the fish
  4. wax — to grow
  5. key — the most important part
  6. club — for golf
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. spell — a short time
  9. prune — to trim
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. club — for dancing
  12. club — a group
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. net — for catching
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. spell — magic
  18. key — in music
  19. prune — to trim
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. spell — letters
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. key — for a lock
  24. net — in sport

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