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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. perch — the fish
  4. chip — for betting
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. wax — to grow
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. spell — letters
  9. toast — bread
  10. chip — to eat
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. press — to push
  13. clip — for paper
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. spell — magic
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. kid — child
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. kid — to tease
  21. press — a publisher
  22. press — newspapers
  23. clip — a video
  24. spell — a short time

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