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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. spring — a coil
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. land — ground
  5. craft — boats
  6. rule — a law
  7. land — to come down
  8. land — a country
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. spring — the season
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. craft — a skill
  15. rule — government
  16. tear — to rip
  17. foot — a measure
  18. wax — to grow
  19. spring — of water
  20. tear — from crying
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. tear — from crying

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