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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. perch — the fish
  3. clip — for paper
  4. staff — employees
  5. root — the cause
  6. row — a line
  7. root — of a word
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. staff — a stick
  10. rush — hurry
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. staff — employees
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. row — to paddle
  16. object — an aim
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. object — to protest
  19. object — a thing
  20. bat — the animal
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. root — of a plant
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. clip — a video

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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