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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. track — a song
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. sharp — clever
  5. bound — certain
  6. object — an aim
  7. clip — to cut
  8. track — to keep track
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. clip — a video
  11. bound — tied together
  12. object — to protest
  13. bound — obliged
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. hand — help
  16. hand — in cards
  17. object — a thing
  18. pop — music
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. pop — soda
  21. track — a path
  22. clip — for paper
  23. pop — to visit
  24. perch — the fish

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