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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. last — finally
  3. pop — music
  4. perch — the fish
  5. last — final
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. wind — moving air
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. pop — to visit
  17. wax — to grow
  18. pop — soda
  19. pound — a weight
  20. wind — moving air
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. last — to go on
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. fan — a supporter

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