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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. field — farmland
  5. cap — a hat
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. perch — the fish
  8. snap — to click
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. chest — of your body
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. wax — to grow
  15. chest — a box
  16. cap — a lid
  17. field — for sport
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. chest — of your body
  24. field — a subject

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