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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 116 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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. perch — the fish
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. race — a contest
  7. race — the arms race
  8. last — finally
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. net — for catching
  12. suit — clothes
  13. suit — in cards
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. suit — to fit
  16. rule — government
  17. race — humankind
  18. clip — a video
  19. net — in sport
  20. last — final
  21. rule — a law
  22. net — after costs
  23. last — to go on
  24. clip — for paper

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