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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 116 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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. cold — an illness
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. kid — child
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. perch — the fish
  9. kid — to tease
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. cold — not warm
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. craft — boats
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. craft — a skill
  18. wax — to grow
  19. plane — a tool
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. craft — a handicraft

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