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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 124 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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. suit — to fit
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. wax — to grow
  7. suit — clothes
  8. cell — a phone
  9. cell — in biology
  10. field — a subject
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. pit — in a race
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. suit — in cards
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. pit — a hole
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. field — for sport
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. wind — moving air
  23. field — farmland
  24. wind — moving air

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