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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 124 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 birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. saw — the tool
  6. clip — to cut
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. clip — a video
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. stem — to come from
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. row — a line
  13. saw — the tool
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. perch — the fish
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. chair — a leader
  18. row — to paddle
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. clip — for paper
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. perch — for a bird

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