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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. clip — to cut
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. mine — for digging
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. ground — a position
  8. perch — the fish
  9. ground — crushed
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. ground — the earth
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. clip — for paper
  16. clip — a video
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. jam — in traffic

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