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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. clip — for paper
  4. clip — to cut
  5. land — ground
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. wind — moving air
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. firm — decided
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. clip — a video
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. lean — to bend
  14. lean — thin
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. land — a country
  18. pass — a permit
  19. wind — moving air
  20. firm — a company
  21. perch — the fish
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. firm — steady
  24. perch — for a bird

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