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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. clip — to cut
  3. deal — to handle
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. rule — a law
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. rule — government
  20. pound — a weight
  21. wake — a trail
  22. clip — for paper
  23. clip — a video
  24. lash — to lash out

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