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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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. net — after costs
  6. court — for sport
  7. net — for catching
  8. court — of law
  9. wax — to grow
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. stand — to bear
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. bear — the animal
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. perch — the fish
  18. bear — the animal
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. bat — the animal
  22. date — the fruit
  23. court — of a king
  24. net — in sport

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