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

  1. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. drill — the tool
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. clip — a video
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. clip — for paper
  10. wake — a trail
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. perch — the fish
  13. drill — a practice
  14. drill — army training
  15. bear — the animal
  16. clip — to cut
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. bear — the animal

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