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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 owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. wax — to grow
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. mug — a cup
  6. mug — to rob
  7. net — for catching
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. key — in music
  10. net — after costs
  11. cell — a phone
  12. row — to paddle
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. row — a line
  15. net — in sport
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. key — the most important part
  19. key — for a lock
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. perch — the fish
  22. cell — in biology
  23. dip — to sink
  24. mug — a face

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