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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 116 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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. wind — moving air
  5. pop — music
  6. pop — soda
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. clip — to cut
  9. pop — to visit
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. key — the most important part
  12. club — for golf
  13. club — for dancing
  14. key — for a lock
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. wind — moving air
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. clip — a video
  20. club — a group
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. key — in music
  24. perch — the fish

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