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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. stand — to bear
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. face — part of the head
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. wax — to grow
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. shower — rain
  15. perch — the fish
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. face — to confront
  18. roll — a cake
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. face — to point toward
  21. chair — a leader
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. roll — a list

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