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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: wax · scale · wound · bowl · wake · can · pound · perch

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. wake — a trail
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. scale — in music
  7. can — a tin
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. scale — size or range
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. wound — an injury
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. wax — to grow
  19. pound — a weight
  20. wound — an injury
  21. perch — the fish
  22. can — to be able to
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. can — a tin

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