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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 120 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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. scale — in music
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. chest — of your body
  9. perch — the fish
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. scale — size or range
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. wax — to grow
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. chest — of your body
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. chest — a box
  24. sharp — clever

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