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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. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. firm — steady
  3. cell — a phone
  4. perch — the fish
  5. wax — to grow
  6. capital — a city
  7. rash — a series
  8. firm — a company
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. capital — money
  12. cell — in biology
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. firm — decided
  15. rash — hasty
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. rock — a stone
  22. rock — music
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. wax — for sculpting

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