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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. perch — the fish
  4. clip — for paper
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. clip — to cut
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. mine — for digging
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. snap — to click
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. season — in sport
  17. vault — a safe
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. clip — a video
  22. season — of the year
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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