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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. ground — the earth
  5. spell — letters
  6. perch — the fish
  7. object — an aim
  8. board — a committee
  9. row — a line
  10. row — to paddle
  11. spell — a short time
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. ground — a position
  15. object — to protest
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. spell — magic
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. board — to get on
  21. ground — crushed
  22. wax — to grow
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. object — a thing

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