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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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. march — the month
  6. perch — the fish
  7. clip — for paper
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. march — music
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. clip — to cut
  16. clip — a video
  17. craft — a skill
  18. march — the month
  19. season — in sport
  20. season — of the year
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. craft — boats
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. game — a match

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