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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.

Make a worksheet

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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. kid — to tease
  5. saw — the tool
  6. clip — a video
  7. kid — child
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. clip — for paper
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. court — of a king
  12. perch — the fish
  13. clip — to cut
  14. mark — a grade
  15. court — of law
  16. mark — a trace
  17. saw — the tool
  18. court — for sport

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