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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. date — the fruit
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. cap — a hat
  6. kid — to tease
  7. cap — of ice
  8. can — a tin
  9. perch — the fish
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. file — a document
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. can — to be able to
  17. chair — a leader
  18. cap — a lid
  19. file — a line of people
  20. file — a tool
  21. kid — child
  22. can — a tin
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. wax — to grow

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