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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 birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. clip — for paper
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. cap — of ice
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. clip — a video
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. ball — a great time
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. clip — to cut
  14. perch — the fish
  15. chest — of your body
  16. net — after costs
  17. chest — of your body
  18. ball — a dance
  19. net — in sport
  20. net — for catching
  21. cap — a hat
  22. cap — a lid
  23. chest — a box
  24. pound — a weight

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