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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 owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. land — to come down
  3. perch — the fish
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. chair — a leader
  6. face — to confront
  7. can — a tin
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. land — ground
  10. land — a country
  11. file — a document
  12. wax — to grow
  13. face — to point toward
  14. ball — a dance
  15. ball — a great time
  16. can — a tin
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. face — part of the head
  19. file — a tool
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. can — to be able to
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. file — a line of people

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