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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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468
Word bank
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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. spell — letters
  5. file — a tool
  6. kick — in football
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. spell — a short time
  11. spell — magic
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. file — a document
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. perch — the fish
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. press — newspapers
  19. file — a line of people
  20. wax — to grow
  21. kid — child
  22. kid — to tease
  23. safe — a strongbox
  24. press — a publisher

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