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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. clip — for paper
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. cap — a hat
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. clip — a video
  15. cap — of ice
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. cap — a lid
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. clip — to cut
  22. rush — hurry
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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