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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 birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. bore — to drill
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. scale — in music
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. perch — the fish
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. bore — to tire
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. mine — for digging
  17. bass — low music
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. scale — size or range
  21. wax — to grow
  22. branch — a division
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. bass — the fish

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