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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 116 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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. clip — to cut
  7. fine — all right
  8. perch — the fish
  9. clip — for paper
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. fork — in a road
  13. band — a music group
  14. fine — high quality
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. bore — to drill
  17. bore — to tire
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. chair — a leader
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. clip — a video
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. band — a ring

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