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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. stand — to bear
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. shower — to wash
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. mate — a friend
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. perch — the fish
  12. staff — employees
  13. staff — a stick
  14. mate — a partner
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. plane — a tool
  18. wax — to grow
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. shower — rain
  23. staff — employees
  24. plane — an aircraft

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