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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
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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: perch · sharp · hand · ruler · wax · mine · straw · cap

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. hand — help
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. cap — a hat
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. wax — to grow
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. hand — in cards
  13. cap — a lid
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. sharp — clever
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. mine — for digging
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. cap — of ice

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