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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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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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: wax · straw · degree · perch · wound · mine · object · content

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. wound — an injury
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. content — the amount
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. object — a thing
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. degree — temperature
  12. wound — an injury
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. degree — an amount
  15. object — an aim
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. mine — for digging
  18. perch — the fish
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. wax — to grow
  22. content — happy
  23. degree — from a university
  24. object — to protest

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