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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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. lean — to bend
  3. cap — a hat
  4. bound — obliged
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. prune — to trim
  7. stock — shares
  8. cell — a phone
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. cell — in biology
  11. prune — to trim
  12. perch — the fish
  13. stock — goods
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. cap — a lid
  18. cap — of ice
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. lean — thin
  21. wax — to grow
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. bound — tied together
  24. bound — certain

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