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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. wax — to grow
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. game — a match
  10. clip — a video
  11. game — wild animals
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. pitch — completely
  14. clip — to cut
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. perch — the fish
  18. clip — for paper
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. snap — to click
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. mouse — for a computer

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