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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 116 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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: row · calf · perch · kid · key · wax · band · root

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. row — a line
  3. key — for a lock
  4. wax — to grow
  5. band — a music group
  6. root — the cause
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. kid — to tease
  9. band — a ring
  10. kid — child
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. key — in music
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. perch — the fish
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. key — the most important part
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. root — of a word
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. row — to paddle
  21. root — of a plant
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. row — a quarrel

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