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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. wax — to grow
  3. game — a match
  4. march — music
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. chip — to eat
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. game — wild animals
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. chip — for betting
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. scale — in music
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. march — the month
  18. rule — a law
  19. march — the month
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. rule — government
  22. perch — the fish
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. scale — for weighing

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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