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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. tear — from crying
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. capital — money
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. kid — to tease
  12. plane — a tool
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. capital — a city
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. perch — the fish
  17. wax — to grow
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. tear — from crying
  21. tear — to rip
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. kid — child
  24. capital — a big letter

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