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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 ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. clip — a video
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. perch — the fish
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. bore — to tire
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. clip — for paper
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. clip — to cut
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. bore — to drill
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — moving air
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. deal — to handle

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