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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. clip — a video
  3. spring — the season
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. mate — to breed
  6. pop — to visit
  7. rest — a break
  8. perch — the fish
  9. rest — what's left
  10. mate — a friend
  11. march — the month
  12. march — the month
  13. spring — a coil
  14. staff — employees
  15. staff — employees
  16. clip — for paper
  17. pop — music
  18. march — music
  19. rest — what's left
  20. spring — of water
  21. pop — soda
  22. clip — to cut
  23. mate — a partner
  24. staff — a stick

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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