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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 owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. pop — music
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. rash — a series
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. bore — to tire
  10. mine — for digging
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. wound — an injury
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. perch — the fish
  16. rash — hasty
  17. wound — an injury
  18. pop — to visit
  19. wax — to grow
  20. bore — to drill
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. pop — soda
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. mine — an explosive

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