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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. perch — the fish
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. cue — a signal
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. cue — a hint
  11. capital — money
  12. face — to point toward
  13. face — to confront
  14. stock — goods
  15. cue — for pool
  16. scale — size or range
  17. scale — in music
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. stock — shares
  21. wax — to grow
  22. face — part of the head
  23. capital — a city
  24. capital — a big letter

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