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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. bear — the animal
  4. fall — to drop
  5. suit — clothes
  6. fall — to drop
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. suit — in cards
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. file — a line of people
  13. file — a document
  14. file — a tool
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. suit — to fit
  17. wax — to grow
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. perch — the fish
  21. sharp — clever
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. fall — the season

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