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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 strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. wind — moving air
  6. fork — in a road
  7. scale — size or range
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. bank — of a river
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. bank — for money
  12. rash — a series
  13. scale — in music
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. field — a subject
  16. wax — to grow
  17. bank — for money
  18. perch — the fish
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. rash — hasty
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. field — farmland
  24. field — for sport

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