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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. wax — to grow
  4. saw — the tool
  5. bear — the animal
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. ball — a great time
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. bear — the animal
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. net — for catching
  12. net — in sport
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. perch — the fish
  16. saw — the tool
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. cell — in biology
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. net — after costs
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. cell — a phone
  24. ball — a dance

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