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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  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 — in the ear
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. hand — help
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. kid — to tease
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. cap — a lid
  12. date — the fruit
  13. shower — to wash
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. cap — a hat
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. cap — of ice
  18. kid — child
  19. hand — in cards
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. perch — the fish
  23. shower — rain
  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