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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 116 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. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. perch — the fish
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. field — for sport
  6. clip — a video
  7. face — to point toward
  8. clip — to cut
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. field — farmland
  11. clip — for paper
  12. field — a subject
  13. scale — size or range
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. wax — to grow
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. face — part of the head
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. scale — in music
  22. face — to confront
  23. kid — child
  24. kid — to tease

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