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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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. mine — belonging to me
  4. row — to paddle
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. craft — a skill
  7. clip — a video
  8. row — a line
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. court — for sport
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. pop — to visit
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. clip — for paper
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. court — of law
  18. craft — boats
  19. court — of a king
  20. pop — music
  21. pop — soda
  22. mine — for digging
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. perch — for a bird

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