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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 birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. mug — to rob
  3. bound — certain
  4. clip — for paper
  5. mug — a cup
  6. bound — obliged
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. file — a line of people
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. file — a tool
  12. field — farmland
  13. snap — to click
  14. file — a document
  15. bound — tied together
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. field — for sport
  19. perch — the fish
  20. clip — to cut
  21. field — a subject
  22. clip — a video
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. mug — a face

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