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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 owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. capital — money
  4. clip — to cut
  5. root — of a plant
  6. ball — a great time
  7. clip — a video
  8. ball — a dance
  9. root — the cause
  10. pit — in a race
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. pit — a hole
  13. perch — the fish
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. root — of a word
  19. capital — a city
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. clip — for paper
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. capital — a big letter

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