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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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. shower — to wash
  5. shower — rain
  6. wax — to grow
  7. band — a music group
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. mug — to rob
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. cold — an illness
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. cold — not warm
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. chair — a leader
  17. perch — the fish
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. mug — a face
  22. mug — a cup
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. band — a ring

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