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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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. clip — for paper
  4. stock — shares
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. perch — the fish
  11. row — a line
  12. clip — a video
  13. stock — goods
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. deal — to handle
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. row — to paddle
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. clip — to cut
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. hide — to keep secret

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