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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. rest — a break
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. pitch — completely
  7. craft — boats
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. row — a line
  14. row — to paddle
  15. craft — a skill
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. perch — the fish
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. rest — what's left
  23. rest — what's left
  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