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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. band — a ring
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. root — of a plant
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. hand — in cards
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. band — a music group
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. root — the cause
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. pitch — completely
  19. plane — a tool
  20. hand — help
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. wax — to grow
  23. safe — a strongbox
  24. root — of a word

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