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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 strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. land — ground
  3. land — a country
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. game — a match
  6. perch — the fish
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. chair — a leader
  10. club — for golf
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. club — for dancing
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. land — to come down
  17. wind — moving air
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. club — a group
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. wax — to grow
  24. game — wild animals

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