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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. cell — in biology
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. wax — to grow
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. perch — the fish
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. kid — child
  11. tear — from crying
  12. tear — to rip
  13. fall — to drop
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. tear — from crying
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. fall — the season
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. cell — a phone
  23. fall — to drop
  24. racket — a loud noise

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