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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. perch — the fish
  3. lie — to recline
  4. bound — certain
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. chest — of your body
  7. bore — to tire
  8. clip — to cut
  9. clip — a video
  10. chest — a box
  11. bore — to drill
  12. clip — for paper
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. bound — obliged
  15. bulb — for light
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. chest — of your body
  18. row — to paddle
  19. row — a line
  20. bound — tied together
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. bulb — for light
  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