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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 ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. present — the time now
  3. clip — for paper
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. present — a gift
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. clip — a video
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. clip — to cut
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. squash — to crush
  13. net — for catching
  14. dip — to sink
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. present — there
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. net — after costs
  20. perch — the fish
  21. squash — the sport
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. net — in sport
  24. fork — in a road

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