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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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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 · squash · cold · stand · face · wax · chip · ruler

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. stand — to bear
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. chip — to eat
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. face — to point toward
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. chip — for betting
  12. face — to confront
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. cold — not warm
  17. perch — the fish
  18. squash — the sport
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. wax — to grow
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. face — part of the head
  23. squash — to crush
  24. cold — the Cold War

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