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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. saw — the tool
  8. hand — in cards
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. perch — the fish
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. fine — all right
  16. hand — help
  17. wax — to grow
  18. shower — rain
  19. roll — a list
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. roll — a cake
  22. shower — to wash
  23. saw — the tool
  24. fine — a penalty

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