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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. perch — the fish
  4. saw — the tool
  5. clip — to cut
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. bark — to shout
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. mark — a grade
  11. clip — a video
  12. mark — a trace
  13. chip — to eat
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. clip — for paper
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. chip — for betting
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. branch — a division
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. saw — the tool

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