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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. shower — to wash
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. rush — hurry
  7. present — the time now
  8. plane — a tool
  9. shower — rain
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. present — a gift
  12. cold — an illness
  13. wax — to grow
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. present — there
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. cold — not warm
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. rush — to hurry

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