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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. march — the month
  3. clip — a video
  4. cell — in biology
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. net — in sport
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. net — for catching
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. clip — for paper
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. fork — in a road
  15. march — the month
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. net — after costs
  18. clip — to cut
  19. march — music
  20. lean — to bend
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. perch — the fish
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. lean — thin

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