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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 120 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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. clip — for paper
  3. wax — to grow
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. foot — a measure
  6. object — to protest
  7. club — for golf
  8. club — for dancing
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. clip — a video
  11. clip — to cut
  12. club — a group
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. perch — the fish
  17. craft — boats
  18. object — a thing
  19. craft — a skill
  20. stem — to come from
  21. object — an aim
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. perch — for a bird

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