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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. bat — the animal
  3. drill — a practice
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. drill — the tool
  6. fine — all right
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. mine — for digging
  9. tear — from crying
  10. mate — a friend
  11. tear — from crying
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. drill — army training
  14. mate — to breed
  15. wax — to grow
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. fine — high quality
  20. tear — to rip
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. perch — the fish

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