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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 birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. wax — to grow
  3. press — a publisher
  4. chip — for betting
  5. bore — to tire
  6. chip — to eat
  7. ground — a position
  8. chest — of your body
  9. press — newspapers
  10. perch — the fish
  11. present — there
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. present — a gift
  14. ground — crushed
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. ground — the earth
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. chest — of your body
  19. chest — a box
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. present — the time now
  22. press — to push
  23. bore — to drill
  24. perch — for a bird

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