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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 116 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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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: saw · wax · chip · perch · pit · straw · kid · cap

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. chip — to eat
  3. perch — the fish
  4. cap — of ice
  5. kid — child
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. cap — a hat
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. kid — to tease
  12. cap — a lid
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. pit — in a race
  16. wax — to grow
  17. saw — the tool
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. saw — the tool
  20. pit — a hole
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. chip — for betting
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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