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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. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. file — a line of people
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. cold — not warm
  8. drill — a practice
  9. drill — the tool
  10. wax — to grow
  11. perch — the fish
  12. file — a tool
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. toast — bread
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. file — a document
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. cold — an illness
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. drill — army training

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