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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. wax — to grow
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. hand — in cards
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. rock — a stone
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. cold — an illness
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. row — a line
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. perch — the fish
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. hand — help
  23. row — to paddle
  24. rock — music

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