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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. pitch — completely
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. cap — a hat
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. bound — tied together
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. clip — a video
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. cap — a lid
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. cap — of ice
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. clip — to cut
  18. bound — obliged
  19. bound — certain
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. cold — not warm
  23. perch — the fish
  24. clip — for paper

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