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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. game — wild animals
  3. file — a document
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. season — of the year
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. scale — in music
  12. scale — size or range
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. wax — to grow
  15. squash — to crush
  16. squash — the sport
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. file — a tool
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. perch — the fish
  22. season — in sport
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. game — a match

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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