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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.

Make a worksheet

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
468
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: date · mine · capital · perch · spring · wax · hide · file

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. spring — the season
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. file — a document
  5. date — the fruit
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. capital — money
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. mine — for digging
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. file — a line of people
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. file — a tool
  18. spring — of water
  19. spring — a coil
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. capital — a city
  23. wax — to grow
  24. hide — animal skin

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