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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 polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. perch — the fish
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. cap — a hat
  6. clip — for paper
  7. clip — to cut
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. wake — a trail
  10. cap — a lid
  11. net — for catching
  12. chip — for betting
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. clip — a video
  18. net — in sport
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. net — after costs
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. chip — to eat
  24. perch — for a bird

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