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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. clip — to cut
  3. swing — music
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. wax — to grow
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. clip — a video
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. clip — for paper
  12. pound — a weight
  13. cue — for pool
  14. scale — size or range
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. cue — a hint
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. cue — a signal
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. scale — in music
  21. swing — to play on
  22. perch — the fish
  23. swing — in golf
  24. pound — to hit hard

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