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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. season — in sport
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. last — finally
  6. file — a document
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. perch — the fish
  13. last — final
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. wax — to grow
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. bark — to shout
  18. mine — for digging
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. file — a line of people
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. last — to go on
  24. season — of the year

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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