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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. squash — the sport
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. perch — the fish
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. squash — to crush
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. saw — the tool
  9. sharp — clever
  10. clip — a video
  11. mate — a friend
  12. clip — for paper
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. saw — the tool
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. wax — to grow
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. mate — a partner
  23. mate — to breed
  24. clip — to cut

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