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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 120 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. rock — music
  5. clip — a video
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. rock — a stone
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. march — the month
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. march — the month
  12. clip — for paper
  13. cold — not warm
  14. march — music
  15. cold — an illness
  16. clip — to cut
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. perch — the fish

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