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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 124 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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. band — a music group
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wax — to grow
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. cold — not warm
  15. cold — an illness
  16. roll — a list
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. roll — a cake
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. perch — the fish
  24. band — a ring

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