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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. fork — in a road
  4. row — to paddle
  5. wound — an injury
  6. row — a line
  7. clip — a video
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. clip — for paper
  14. mark — a grade
  15. bear — the animal
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. clip — to cut
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. bear — the animal
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. mark — a trace

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