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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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Word bank
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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 ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. perch — the fish
  5. lean — thin
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. wind — moving air
  9. mate — a partner
  10. wind — moving air
  11. lean — to bend
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. wax — to grow
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. mate — to breed
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. vault — a safe
  21. mate — a friend
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. chair — a leader

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