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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. bound — tied together
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. drill — the tool
  5. land — to come down
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. dip — to sink
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. kid — to tease
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. drill — a practice
  12. bound — obliged
  13. kid — child
  14. land — a country
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. bound — certain
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. land — ground
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. chair — a leader
  22. wax — to grow
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. drill — army training

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