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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. wake — a trail
  5. clip — a video
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. cell — a phone
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. pitch — completely
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. game — wild animals
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. clip — to cut
  18. cell — in biology
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. game — a match
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. clip — for paper

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