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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. track — a song
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. kid — to tease
  6. kid — child
  7. saw — the tool
  8. bore — to drill
  9. sharp — clever
  10. rash — hasty
  11. rash — a series
  12. bore — to tire
  13. saw — the tool
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. wax — to grow
  17. perch — the fish
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. track — a path
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. track — to keep track
  24. perch — for a bird

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