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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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  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. perch — for a bird
  2. wax — to grow
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. perch — the fish
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. bat — the animal
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. shower — rain
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. snap — to click
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. club — for golf
  17. face — part of the head
  18. face — to point toward
  19. shower — to wash
  20. face — to confront
  21. club — a group
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. club — for dancing
  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