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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. staff — employees
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. clip — a video
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. clip — to cut
  7. chest — of your body
  8. perch — the fish
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. staff — a stick
  13. staff — employees
  14. wound — an injury
  15. chest — a box
  16. chest — of your body
  17. clip — for paper
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. wound — an injury
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. lie — to recline
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. bowl — a dish

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