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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. clip — for paper
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. mine — for digging
  6. rest — what's left
  7. clip — a video
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. swing — music
  11. dip — to sink
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. perch — the fish
  14. prune — to trim
  15. rest — a break
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. rest — what's left
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. snap — to click
  20. swing — in golf
  21. swing — to play on
  22. clip — to cut
  23. prune — to trim
  24. dip — a sauce

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