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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 owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. rest — what's left
  3. content — happy
  4. suit — in cards
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. suit — clothes
  8. bat — the animal
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. face — to confront
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. suit — to fit
  13. rest — a break
  14. clip — to cut
  15. clip — for paper
  16. face — part of the head
  17. rest — what's left
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. face — to point toward
  20. clip — a video
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. perch — the fish
  24. content — the amount

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