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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. bear — the animal
  4. wax — to grow
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. mine — for digging
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. bound — certain
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. bear — the animal
  14. last — final
  15. bound — tied together
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. last — to go on
  18. last — finally
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. rush — hurry
  21. content — happy
  22. perch — the fish
  23. bound — obliged
  24. content — the amount

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