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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. perch — the fish
  3. date — the fruit
  4. field — farmland
  5. clip — a video
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. mate — to breed
  8. field — a subject
  9. foot — a measure
  10. charge — a price
  11. clip — to cut
  12. charge — in control
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. charge — electricity
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. tear — from crying
  18. mate — a partner
  19. mate — a friend
  20. field — for sport
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. tear — from crying
  24. tear — to rip

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