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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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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: mug · perch · scale · last · wax · stock · face · clip

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. perch — the fish
  3. clip — for paper
  4. stock — goods
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. face — part of the head
  7. stock — shares
  8. wax — to grow
  9. clip — a video
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. last — to go on
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. clip — to cut
  15. face — to point toward
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. last — finally
  18. scale — in music
  19. face — to confront
  20. mug — to rob
  21. last — final
  22. mug — a cup
  23. mug — a face
  24. scale — size or range

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