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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. rest — what's left
  3. rest — a break
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. land — ground
  6. wound — an injury
  7. race — the arms race
  8. rest — what's left
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wax — to grow
  11. land — a country
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. content — happy
  15. face — to point toward
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. face — part of the head
  18. face — to confront
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. content — the amount
  21. perch — the fish
  22. land — to come down
  23. race — humankind
  24. race — a contest

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