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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. craft — boats
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. clip — to cut
  5. craft — a skill
  6. fall — to drop
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. ground — crushed
  9. ground — a position
  10. fall — the season
  11. bore — to drill
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. clip — for paper
  15. perch — the fish
  16. sharp — clever
  17. bore — to tire
  18. ground — the earth
  19. clip — a video
  20. fall — to drop
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. wind — moving air

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