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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. clip — a video
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. bass — low music
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. staff — employees
  7. tube — a container
  8. clip — to cut
  9. bass — the fish
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. kid — to tease
  13. bulb — for light
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. tube — the underground
  16. staff — employees
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. clip — for paper
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. perch — the fish
  21. kid — child
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. bulb — for light
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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