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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: field · perch · wax · cue · dip · kick · tear · season

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. perch — the fish
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. tear — from crying
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. season — of the year
  8. field — farmland
  9. field — for sport
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. tear — from crying
  13. kick — in football
  14. field — a subject
  15. season — in sport
  16. tear — to rip
  17. dip — to sink
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. wax — to grow
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. cue — a hint
  22. cue — a signal
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. cue — for pool

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