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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 120 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. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. march — the month
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. clip — for paper
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. clip — to cut
  7. tear — from crying
  8. tear — from crying
  9. ground — the earth
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. perch — the fish
  12. present — the time now
  13. march — music
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. clip — a video
  16. present — a gift
  17. ground — a position
  18. march — the month
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. tear — to rip
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. ground — crushed
  23. plane — a tool
  24. present — there

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