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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 owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. hand — help
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. tear — to rip
  8. bore — to tire
  9. perch — the fish
  10. bass — the fish
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. hand — in cards
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. tear — from crying
  17. tear — from crying
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. bass — low music
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. row — to paddle
  22. row — a line
  23. bore — to drill
  24. wax — to grow

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