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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. rule — government
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. shower — rain
  7. lean — thin
  8. wax — to grow
  9. lean — to bend
  10. rule — a law
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. file — a line of people
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. shower — to wash
  19. perch — the fish
  20. file — a document
  21. file — a tool
  22. prune — to trim
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. prune — to trim

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