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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. file — a document
  3. content — the amount
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. file — a line of people
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. chip — for betting
  8. clip — for paper
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. chip — to eat
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. clip — to cut
  13. perch — the fish
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. lean — to bend
  17. content — happy
  18. clip — a video
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. file — a tool
  23. lean — thin
  24. chip — in a computer

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